CHAOS MAN, Andrew Mayne’s latest effort, features lead characters from multiple series. The novel is so intense and frightening in the real-world predicaments it covers that it could be considered a horror story based on the nightmares it will induce in readers.

Mayne, who is also a magician, happens to be a master plotter and shows off his intelligence with each novel he writes. He is capable of many forms of literary sleight of hand and has deep insight into various subjects --- from science to all forms of law enforcement --- which is on full display throughout CHAOS MAN.

Computational biologist Theo Cray is on vacation with his partner, rogue FBI agent Jessica Blackwood, when they learn of a potential disaster that may be part of a much larger scheme to attack the infrastructure of the United States and cause massive loss of life if successful. The first link, which is figured out by Theo using his mathematical skills, is a train derailment in Arcadia City, Idaho. It was orchestrated by human hands and could be the beginning of a series of disasters that will include a nuclear device that could kill millions of U.S. citizens.

"Readers will find their hearts in their throats as Andrew Mayne conducts a symphony of suspense and thrills that reaches nearly unbearable heights."

Theo and Jessica arrive in Idaho but are clearly not welcome there as the entire area is in lockdown by several agencies, including FEMA. They insert themselves into the situation, which includes stealing an ambulance for transportation, and are taken down by the military presence that is running the show. Theo announces that they are trying to stop terrorists from getting nuclear materials, but it does not prevent them from being incarcerated and grilled. The head of the Department of Energy’s Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center knows Theo and Jessica well. He is not happy that they are there and plans to keep them locked up and face charges of theft and treason.

It takes a phone call to Brad Trasker, a security specialist of the highest order, to get Theo and Jessica released and clear things up so that they all can work together to stop whoever is behind this plot of homegrown terrorist activity. When a battery facility in Florida is taken out by an explosion, causing the power grid to go down for days, the team reaches out to their contact on the ground there --- underwater investigator Sloan McPherson --- to be their eyes and ears in the Sunshine State.

Their first break comes from ink found at both the Idaho and Florida disasters that could lead them to the identity of at least one of the people behind these attacks. Theo and his colleagues locate the man they believe is responsible, a slighted individual who see himself as an agent of chaos. They must make their own brand of chaos to stop him before his grand finale is unleashed and hopefully save millions of unwitting victims in the process.

Readers will find their hearts in their throats as Andrew Mayne conducts a symphony of suspense and thrills that reaches nearly unbearable heights. The ending will come...and with it a great deal of destruction that will keep stress levels high until the final pages. Mayne has a solid group of protagonists to work with, and it is such a pleasure to see them all in one place in this dynamic novel.