THE SCOTLAND PROJECT is a thriller about the high-stakes search for a rumored “fifth bomber” behind the July 7, 2005 London bombing—and possibly also the 2015 Paris attacks. The mystery terrorist, it is feared, is preparing a new series of bombings, setting into action cooperative work by international agencies in England and Paris to find and stop him. Adding to the danger is a Belarusian low-level criminal living in London whose grievances against the West have drawn him to a thirst for vengeance.
Beyond the incalculable risks for hundreds of innocent bystanders in whatever unknown location the terrorist chooses to strike, the stakes are personal for the protagonist, an investigative journalist: his parents were among the London bombing victims.
Author Matthew Fults’s cinematic and evocative scenes carry the reader through a complex story of intrigue with detailed, authoritative portraits of the inner workings of sleeper cells, international agency hierarchies, and newspaper customs. Many are entertaining, such as this coded message sent on the fly: “Best drink I ever had was sitting on the far corner stool at the Port O’ Leith. It was two fingers of Writer’s Tears and a side of club soda with ice and a lime.”
The author also offers insights on the citizens who suffer the brunt of unceasing warfare between other governments and their own—and how such anguish can lead decent people to commit atrocities, and frequently as tools of more powerful terrorists. At one point, the Belarusian says to his friend: “Look at you and me. We got out, but we’re doing the same thing. We are still criminals, just smarter and better at it. We have nice flats, you drive a nice car. We eat when we want. And back home, my father is wondering if his money—his savings—is gone. It’s not right.”
Fults does a good job of tracking numerous characters with assigned quirks, habits, and clothing: a cane, a chain-smoker, a hat. One amusing nickname for a particularly odious thug will make the reader smile and when the action is on, it’s terrific. After the novel’s overly detailed set-up, the intrigue quickly pushes the action forward. Particularly effective is a long, sustained, page-turning climax involving multiple parties in crises. The conclusion is quick and satisfying, too.
Matthew Fults’s high-stakes thriller THE SCOTLAND PROJECT gallops through heart-stopping scenes of intrigue and action.
~Anne Welsbacher for IndieReader