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GHOST GUNS: A MATT O’MALLEY THRILLER

by Thomas G. Kane

People are succumbing to a mysterious illness around Orlando’s Lake Eola, while state, local, and federal officials do everything they can to prevent the public from learning the truth behind the deaths. Kaitlyn Clancy is being held hostage, and a ruthless arms merchant known as The Hawk is hunting Matt O’Malley.

These are just some of the electrifying story lines running through the latest book in the Matt O’Malley thriller series, Ghost Guns. Thomas G. Kane, an Orlando attorney and Florida Bar member, conjures up a thrilling tale that has the protagonist struggling to learn the identity of The Hawk and trying to prevent him from deploying a new chemical weapon of mass destruction — a poison so powerful that a few drops in a body of water will render the water highly toxic for years. Lake Eola is a test case, and the results are devastating.

The fast-paced action in this highly entertaining novel forces the reader to explore the danger terrorists pose to soft targets such as water supplies. But, like all of Mr. Kane’s novels, Ghost Guns also explores larger issues of social import.

In his first book in the Matt O’Malley series, Desperate Hours, Mr. Kane wrote about the danger of the lone wolf terrorist in large public gatherings. In Desperate Hours, the antagonists attempt to blow up a tour boat with a presidential candidate aboard along with hundreds of dignitaries during a Fourth of July fireworks show.

Human trafficking by the Russian mafia was the underlying theme of Desperate Days, a novel that has O’Malley racing around the Adirondack State Park during four harrowing days, attempting to locate and save the daughter of a friend from being smuggled out of the country.

Kateri’s Treasure weaves together the stories of the bateaux (war boats) sunk during the French and Indian Wars in Lake George, and legends surrounding St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the “Lily of the Mohawks.” Kane blends the two with a modern-day story of a rogue MI-5 agent on a murderous spree as he searches for treasure in Lake George. The author uses this story to raise questions about what actually is of value in our lives, what constitutes true treasure, and the importance of natural environments.

The author had an active trial practice for 25 years and those experiences creep into his books. The stories are driven by dialogue that fills out the characters, making them real and identifiable. He explores, and gives voice to, the thoughts of the antagonist as well as the protagonists. He has an excellent ear for how people speak to one another, and he gives life, humor, and pathos to his characters. Even the villains are given an opportunity to vent their grievances, whether real or imagined. They get to present them, and the reader is able to decide whether they are valid or not.

Desperate Days, is the second thrilling “Matt O’Malley” mystery novel by Thomas Kane set in the beautiful Adirondack State Park. The tranquility of the park stands in stark contrast to the evil acts that are occurring there in this action packed, tightly paced thriller.
Matt has returned to upstate New York from his home in Florida only to learn that Erin, the beautiful young daughter of his friend Carol has disappeared. Carol has gone to the police who believe that she is overreacting and with no evidence of foul play they refuse to look for Erin. In desperation, Carol turns to Matt O’Malley, who has problems of his own. Almost since he arrived back in the Adirondacks, the Men of Islam have been seeking their revenge on him.
When Matt O’Malley starts asking questions concerning the missing Erin’s whereabouts he runs into the ominously menacing Sergei Popov who drives Matt to commit acts that just days before he would not have believe himself capable of, as he uncovers an unspeakably horrifying crime playing out in one of the remote Adirondack Great Camps.
Matt’s quest to save Erin leads him on a frantic four day chase throughout the Adirondacks, all the while dodging terrorist assassins who are trying their best to kill him. As Desperate Days races to an explosive and suspenseful conclusion, Matt must test the limits of his own mental and physical endurance as well as the strength of some of his closest friendships as he will do whatever he has to do to save Erin from a ghastly fate.