Internal Security

David Darracott

Average Rating 9/10 (1 Review)

How far would you go to save the nation? Tom Darden is a small-time reporter who needs a hot scoop to save his career, and when opportunity finally knocks, he stops at nothing to get the story of a lifetime.

When a hotel bombing in Daytona Beach kills hundreds, a frightening threat to the nation emerges from the rubble. A diabolical plot is afoot that threatens the American way of life, and only he can stop it, even though reporting the truth could cost him his life. The deeper he digs, the more terrifying the threat becomes, but still he tries to untangle a web of secrets, never knowing an even bigger danger awaits him and the country. A mysterious organization is tracking his every move, determined to crush everything he discovers, and they will stop at nothing to shut him up.

Alone and under fire, he refuses to back down despite the danger of exposing a power-mad conspiracy. Unwilling to sit and watch his country split apart at the seams, he strikes back with the only weapon he possesses - his determination to save what might be lost forever. The fate of the nation hangs in the balance as his worst fears become real. It’s time to fight back.

About the Author:
David Darracott is the author of the novels Internal Security and Wasted, and as well as other fiction. He holds a Masters Degree in English and is the recipient of awards for both fiction and nonfiction, including a Hambidge Fellowship in 2009-2010. Though fiction is his passion - first, last, and always - fly-fishing and golf run a close second. A graduate of Emory University, he lives in North Atlanta.

Review by Paul Lappen (300414) Rating (9/10)

Review by Paul Lappen
Rating 9/10
America is rocked by another terrorist attack. Has Islamic terrorism again come to America?

A large truck bomb explodes at a Daytona Beach hotel during Spring Break. The casualty list, and the amount of damage, is huge. Tom Darden, a reporter for a regional radio news service, gets into the blast area, when everyone else is being kept out. Over the next few days, he writes a story that starts to put some of the pieces together. It involves a couple of missing illegal aliens, and a black pickup truck with Texas license plates. Darden's boss has no interest in running the story, because he was officially told, by his boss, to back off the story. As punishment, Darden is sent to Iraq.

The patrol that Darden is part of is attacked, and, in the chaos, Darden photographs things that he shouldn't have photographed. He is thrown in prison, but this is not your average prison. For lack of a better term, this is an unofficial, "off-the-books" prison. It's the sort of place where Iraqis with absolutely no connection to the insurgency, are tortured, frequently to death, simply because the civilian contractors can do it. Darden's cell neighbour is a former Army medic whose ‘crime’ was treating one of those tortured Iraqis. After a few days, Darden is released and put on a plane back to America.

Back home, Darden writes about his experiences in Iraq, and posts on several different websites. It attracts the attention of powerful people in Washington, which leads to an assassination attempt. A senior adviser to the President, called the War Hawk, goes live on national TV. Using the Daytona Beach bombing as a justification, he imposes martial law. Rioting is widespread. The country is very divided. Can Tom, along with sympathetic government officials, expose the truth before it is too late?

This is an excellent piece of writing. It works really well as a political thriller, and it's much too plausible. Highly recommended.
Paul Lappen (30th April 2014)