Semi Finalist
Assessment:
Plot: The author crafts a tightly-woven, expansive thriller that offers readers substantial detail, without overwhelming the story’s momentum.
Prose: The author writes in engaging, rich prose, and demonstrates clear awareness of present day geopolitical conflicts.
Originality: Leifer’s novel stands out among others that address terrorist attempts to launch nuclear and biological attack weapons on the U.S. Intelligent discourse, verisimilitude, and a full humanization of characters, provide the novel exceptional depth and dimension.
Character Development: Characters are made distinct through the inclusion of their personal histories, which provide powerful insight into their motivations, behaviors, and roles in the storyline.
Date Submitted: July 16, 2018
Terrorist leaders of the United Islamic State are determined to strike a death blow to their hated enemy America. Having tried a biological attack the year before with some success, they are now even more determined to get it done. Their first step is procuring nuclear material from a Pakistani military installation near Islamabad for shipment to a group of radical Islamist jihadists, whose plan has been sixteen years in the making: the catastrophic destruction then subjugation of the West. Sleeper agents have been waiting a long time to strike the fatal blow. The target: New York City on New Year's Eve. Stopping this destruction and saving millions of innocent lives falls on the shoulders of Commander John Hart. With the help of Dr. Elizabeth Wilkins, they must race to find where the weapon is hidden and disarm it, all before midnight on December 31. Failure is not an option.
If you’re a reader of thrillers and appreciate stories with everything that goes with them - intrigue, murder, planned destruction and terrorists - then you can’t go wrong with 8 Seconds to Midnight. John Leifer grabs the reader from the first pages and doesn’t let go. The author has created an exceptional story filled with everything that makes a thriller a thriller. The cast of characters, the good guys and the bad, is superbly developed and the plot is filled with action and suspense all the way to a satisfying ending. The story moves along at break-neck pace, leaving the reader expectantly waiting to turn to the next page. Very good story, very entertaining. I highly recommend this book.
