Oh I had a long break from reading specially the Alistair
MacLeans. One can have too much of a good thing, I think. This is one book I
seriously have no recollection reading and I wonder why? It is a good story and
very much in line with the usual plot lines.
There is espionage in the oil fields of Alaska and Canada
where messages are being sent with no demands but just warnings of disruptions
to the plants. They promised to be minor disruptions but the first one included
the death of 2 engineers. Jim Brady’s company is one that is top in the field
of capping oil fires and for the first time he is approached to handle this
kind of a problem where they have to review the security system to see where
there can be a breach and so a likely place for saboteurs to disrupt the oil
flow. He sends in his 2 best men to investigate and then joins them when the
death of 2 engineers occurs.
The pace moves fairly
fast and it has everyone racing from Alaska to Canada and back. It is
surprising that there are so many ways to disrupt the working of an oil field.
Once the deaths are found to be murders and more people die things get serious
and attempts are made to get the oil companies to get rid of Jim Brady and his
men. Why the high up men in the 2 companies seem so reluctant to cooperate? What do these saboteurs want? There is a consensus
that the softening up process was indicating that the demand when it came would
be huge. So what is it they want? Why are the company security men, who are the
best on the world, unable to stop the sabotage? The messages are being sent in
the company code, in both cases, so it is very much of an inside job linking both
the sites as the messages were similarly worded. Why does the company doctor
certify the deaths of the engineers as straightforward shooting and that of
field operations manager as being sandbagged and left to die in the cold?
Jim has his wife and daughter with him as they feel that the
‘bad guys’ will not hesitate to kidnap them and use as a lever to stop the
investigation. They are being guarded by the Canadian Mounties but on the day
they are visiting the plant and then going for dinner with the CEO they just
have the plant security with them when they get kidnapped. The security men
were left dazed and unconscious. Where they really beaten? Who can they trust
to help from within the companies? How to find where the kidnappers have taken Jim’s
wife and daughter as well as Reynolds the CEO? Has Jim given into the demand of
the kidnappers when they put in the flight plan to leave Canada?
There is a fair tension maintained in the plot and there is the
usual dry humour working well with the story. As usual when I read something for
the first time (as this read felt like that) I am in such a rush to know the
whole story that I am sure I have missed finer points. This means I shall have
a happy second read in a couple of months and savour the book again.
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