There aren�t too many writers that can successfully launch not one but two series of novels in such a short period of time, but Belleville-born author Rick Mofina continues to churn them out, producing this seventh novel since 2001�s If Angels Fall. After reading that one and the ensuing Cold Fear just months ago, I took a break from that five-book series featuring Tom Reed and Walt Sydowski and eagerly devoured 2005�s The Dying Hour, introducing his Jason Wade series. Every Fear, its successor, released in September 2006, is destined to be every bit as popular, perhaps eclipsing the #7 Quill & Quire (and #1 Wal-Mart Canada) bestseller ranking of The Dying Hour.
While the Reed-Sydowski series is primarily focused in San Francisco, and the Jason Wade series in Seattle, both of them cross borders into Western Canadian territory, with the latter zooming in on a Toronto connection, as well.
If you�ll pardon my sexism, Mofina focuses on the heart and soul of evil, that is, crimes involving the most vulnerable of our society - children and women - but that�s not to say he is stereotypical in choosing either his victims or his villains (although newspaper editors may disagree...). In both The Dying Hour and Every Fear, the author dispenses with the slightly overwrought geographical descriptions contained in his first series, concentrating instead on the interactions of the central characters, while maintaining a steady, exciting pace in the storylines.
Every Fear, as with If Angels Fall and Cold Fear, addresses the sacred bond between a parent and child, this one centering on the abduction of an infant, in broad daylight, and its mother�s desperate but unsuccessful attempt to intervene. In general, though, it speaks to the lengths to which any woman might go to fulfill not only the desire to achieve but to protect and prolong her motherhood.
In the Mofina books I have read so far, including Every Fear, there is no gratuitous profanity, sex and violence, only that which is warranted to draw a realistic response from a general readership. Although his protagonists are possessed of an acute sense of suspended horror, their personalities are balanced with the more positive aspects of life - companionship and romance � but this latter facet is only peripherally inserted. It�s not difficult to imagine that a rookie reporter (or a seasoned detective) would both have trouble maintaining long-term personal relationships.
Mr. Mofina makes excellent use of his global background as a true crime reporter and journalist, which has taken him as far north as the Arctic and several locations in the U.S. Although his characters are mainly of Caucasian origin, perhaps his prior travels to the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East, or even his current base in Canada�s capital city, will lead to stories with a more international flavour. Regardless, Every Fear will strike a chord of apprehension in everyone who can empathize with a child-parent trauma. Volume three in the series is already a crime-in-progress, so stay posted for the A.P.B. |
