Days of Drums

Philip Shelby

What she doesn't know could kill her.

Not since Marathon Man has there been a thriller with the unrelenting force of this extraordinary novel. Days of Drums is the story of a senator's assassination and of a young female Secret Service agent in the vise of a conspiracy as the tension builds, heartbeat by heartbeat, toward a terrifying climax.

For rookie Secret Service agent Holland Tylo, landing one of the top protection jobs in Washington - guarding the respected, charismatic Senator Charles Westbourne - is a clear sign that her career is right on track. Suddenly it all blows up in her face when Senator Westbourne is gruesomely murdered on her watch. Devastated by the senator's death, censured by her superiors, Holland is isolated. But as she struggles to clear her name, terrifying questions confront her: Was she set up? Is the President next? What she doesn't know could kill her.

Alone and discredited, Holland discovers that Senator Westbourne's death is only the tip of a massive plot of conspiracy and murder, to which she has the key: a computer diskette that holds the secret of the scheme. Now Holland must hide from the very people she most trusted - even as she is pursued by one of the most devious and vicious killers the Secret Service has ever known. Caught in a web of betrayal, she is both hunter and hunted, never knowing if one of her former friends might kill her.

With gripping tension and daring intrigue reminiscent of In the Line of Fire, Days of Drums is a dazzling suspense thriller featuring one of the most memorable heroines in recent fiction.

Review by Chrissi (011101) Rating (7/10)

Review by Chrissi
This book was a gift from Nigel's Mum, and is an imported American novel. I know that I digress, but I would like to say that it does seem to be better bound than many of the books being published here at the moment. I suppose that that is one of the side effects of the abolishment of the retail book pricing agreement.

Anyway, it's about the death of an American politician, and the plot that surrounds it. The secret service agent who should have guarded him is called into question, and finds herself in danger for what she may or may not know.

Once again, a conspiracy theorist has written a book with so many twists and turns that you are unsure if we will ever find out what or who is really behind it all. There are times, when you know that no-one can be trusted, that you find yourself willing her to stop being such a wet blanket, and just strike off on your own. Well, I did, anyway, I just get annoyed when they namby-pamby around and want them to get on with finding who is setting them up. But then I was never the most patient person anyway.

There is nothing in here that you have not read before, but having said that, it is not a dire condemnation, after all, most things are re-hashes of something else, it is a very competently written, well structured story, and will entertain you for a few hours with no difficulty at all.
Chrissi (1st November 2001)