Russell Blake: Upon a Pale Horse

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A frightening bio-thriller
Russell Blake has written a compelling and chilling bio-thriller about a plot for biological Armageddon. (Revelation 6: "behold a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death and Hades followed him."). Biological warfare has always worried me more than nuclear warfare because with bio-warfare there may be no winners.

While working with the CIA, Keith Rutherford had a record for seeing things that others missed. One day, when hacking into forbidden areas of the Agency's database, he stumbles across scary information about the development of biological agents and plans to use them. Because he was frightened that he knew too much, his immediate reaction was to fly to safety under an assumed name and try to verify and prevent the plans being implemented. His plane to Rome disappears off the radar without reason.

After Keith's death, his brother, Jeffrey, an attorney in San Francisco, moves to Washington DC when he gets a once in a lifetime job offer. Before his death Keith gave his girl friend a pawnshop ticket and asked her to give it to his brother. Jeffrey redeems the item and finds a hidden note from Keith with the key to his alarming discoveries - and a warning "Don't trust anyone".

This starts Jeffrey along the same dangerous path of discovery, around the country and across the world. He soon finds that he also can't trust anyone and that Keith's worst fears are true. How can he prevent a catastrophe that will change mankind forever?

While Russell Blake is better known for his action/adventure/suspense stories he has written a couple of stand-alone financial conspiracy stories which I really liked. This time he has written a well researched bio-thriller with a conspiracy background with implications that are as scary as hell. I truly hope that this is fictional escapism because if there are people and organisations who will go to any length to possess power and change the world then the pale horse could ride by at any time.

This is one of Blake's best books I have read for some time and shows the extent of his imaginative skills in a somewhat different genre. It certainly meets his aim of writing a "frightening bio-thriller that breaks the mold".