Dangerous Past by A. F. Ebbers
MWSA Review
Dangerous Past is a mystery-thriller in the spirit of both Scott Turow and Ernest K. Gann. When a bomb detonates in the hold of a West Sky airliner, Captain Frank Braden conducts a harrowing emergency landing, heroically saving the plane's 110 passengers and crew. During the investigation, the FBI accuses Braden of planting the bomb in a brazen attempt at suicide. To clear his name, he is forced to dredge deep into his Vietnam service, sifting through a world of narcotics, espionage, and murder. Discovering his demise will clear the way for a political appointment, Braden must prove his innocence before his nemesis can eliminate him and rise to the highest levels of government.
A.F. Ebbers is already established in publishing and aviation circles. His debut novel will be well received in both. It will also prove a good read for anyone who enjoys action and intrigue.
Reviewed by: Stephen Phillips (2010)
Author's Synopsis
This is a contemporary story of Airline Captain Frank Braden, a former Vietnam pilot, who is being stalked by unknown assassins who must arrange his death to look like a suicide or an accident before a specific deadline. And Braden has no clue as to why people would want to kill him.
Soon after the assassins arrive in Austin, Texas, the airliner Braden is flying undergoes a terrifying and deadly decompression explosion. Braden is suspended from his flying job and is suspected of being unstable since the FBI is led to believe he caused the airliner explosion in a suicide attempt.
Little by little Braden and his wife are pulled deeper and deeper into a dangerous web of intrigue that will eventually rock the highest levels of Washington.
Several attempts are made on his life and even his wife and children are threatened with death. And when Braden turns to the local police for help, they do not believe his stories since they think he is schizophrenic and suicidal, exactly what his assailants want the authorities to believe.