The Moonpool

Cam Richter #3

by P.T. Deutermann

I remembered it from high school chemistry, one of those experiments where we made hydrogen. It was more of an acidic sensation on the palate than a real smell, but I recognized it. The pile of spent fuel at the bottom was beginning to outgas. Next would come the fire to end all fires.… A private detective working in Wilmington, North Carolina, is found dead in a gas-station restroom, apparently poisoned. But when her body sets off radiation alarms in the pathologist’s office, suspicion falls on the nearby Helios nuclear power plant, a heavily guarded facility with supposedly fail-safe procedures. As the FBI, local police, and the power plant’s own security team investigate, ex-cop Cam Richter, head of the agency that employed the dead woman, begins his own inquiries. What was his detective investigating? And how could one person be poisoned by radiation without others being exposed? Cam soon finds himself up against powerful forces that will stop at nothing to keep the plant’s problems secret. The most vulnerable part of Helios is its “moonpool”—the radioactive storage pond that cools spent but volatile reactor fuel and must be kept completely full. Racing against time, Cam discovers an inside threat, a plan to use the plant’s own systems to begin an unstoppable, disastrous sequence of events.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Suspense

10 pages, Audio CD

First published May 27, 2008

About the author

P. T. Deutermann is a retired Navy captain and has served in the joint Chiefs of Staff as an arms control specialist. He is the author of eighteen novels, and lives in North Carolina. His World War II adventure novel Pacific Glory won the W. Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction, administered by the American Library Association; his other World War II novels are Ghosts of Bungo Suido and Sentinels of Fire. His most recent novel is Cold Frame, a contemporary thriller set in Washington, D.C.

Reviews

[Eric_W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book to read on trains, cars, and planes. I rather enjoy most Deutermann and have no need to recount the plot here. It's a bit fantastical but one doesn't really expect much realism from thrillers anyway, I did like Frick and Frack, however. Of course, the bag guy raises snakes.

[William Bentrim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Moon Pool by P.T. Deutermann
Keep in mind, I see myself writing recommendations rather than reviews. I can save you some time, I recommend the book. Deutermann and this book once again, kept me up late reading. Cam Richter who we met in Cat Dancers and Spider Mountain is back. Cam, Frick and Frack once again face myriad dangers, the FBI, Home Land Security, delusional hackers, psychotic ex-military and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

I have all four books in this series and will be enlightening my readers with my reactions, sweaty palms and all. I reviewed Cat Dancers and then Spider Mountain on this blog a few weeks ago, this book is every bit as good. I have to feel that Deutermann is a dog person; he writes of Cam’s sidekicks with respect and love but also is able to be pragmatic about them. Cam’s love for his canine companions is once again aptly demonstrated.

Deutermann portrays his protagonists with nearly bottomless loyalty and unbelievable persistence, often to their determent. Cam’s fellow ex-cops demonstrate the astounding depths of friendship.

Cam and other characters express dismay over the state of the American psychic and derision for many of the agencies tasked to keep us safe. Deutermann is very even handed in his characters’ criticisms. This book, as the others in the series, is a nail biting action adventure.

I highly recommend it.

[Mac Daly · Rating 4 out of 5]

When one of Cam Richter's agents dies under mysterious circumstances, he sets out to find out what happened. Before he's there one day, he's told my shady government operatives to leave it alone and go home. Of course, he ignores the threat. What follows is an adventure involving coverups and nuclear threats.

Shades of Bourne and Mission Impossible Cam has to disentangle himself from several life threatening situations before he uncovers the truth. While Cam is very good at figuring out how to get out of those situations, it made me wonder why he didn't use that talent to keep the bad guys from continuing to get the drop on him.

It's a thrilling ride, however, the phrase "no animals were harmed in the writing of this book" does not apply.

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic read. I can't wait to read more of his novels.....and thanks to my Goodreads friend Clark for highly recommending THE MOONPOOL.
MOONPOOL is an exciting and moving story about an attack on a nuclear power plant in North Carolina causing the death of a woman (caused by radiation poisoning) who was an employee of Cam Richter, ex-cop and now private investigator. Richter 's investigation into this death, his discovery of the activities of a number of the employees of power plant, and his love of his 2 dogs, are told mostly in the first person by Richter.
In addition to the dangerous and exciting situations Richter encounters in the investigation in and around the nuclear power plant, his love of his two German Shepherd dogs and their help in his investigation is a moving part of this story.
I can't wait to read more P. T. Deutermann,s novels.

[Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

More thrilling events and experiences than can be found in five novels!

[Heather Sinclair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full disclosure: my eReader died, and this is the first paper book I could find in the house so that's why I read it. So now you know I didn't have much of a choice but, honestly, I did enjoy reading it.

This is a crime adventure novel, and features all the usual suspects (ha! see what I did there?) - the hard-boiled retired cop, the tech guy, the muscle, and...two dogs? Yes, two German shepherds feature prominently in the book.

The action is constant, the mystery intriguing, and the characters are likeable. Overall, a great trashy, guilty kind of read for when you're at the beach on vacation (or your eReader dies or whatever).

It might be annoying to some reader that the book sometimes seemed like the author was trying to outdo himself being witty and intelligent (look how much I know about guns! look how much I know about the FBI! look how clever I can be!) but it's still enjoyable.

The weirdest thing is that there were no chapters...just one long book. That was kind of strange to me.

Recommended for airport layovers, vacations, downtime, and guilty bathtub reading.

[Ric Ulloa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am totally hooked on the Cam Richter series and Moonpool did not disappoint (SPOILER ALERT!! Until the sad ending about his dogs!) I really enjoy the stories; though, I have to admit, they take awhile to get into the gist of the whole story (it's just kind of P. T. Dueterman's style as I've come to learn after reading about 8 or 9 of his books). What I really like is that Mr. Duerterman doesn't waver with the character type and he's really consistent in his portrayal of the area people. I am anxiously looking forward to the 4th in this series which I'm starting as soon as I'm done writing this up!

[Hazy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some decent action scenes and funny lines. But the book lost me midway through with too many fantastic plot twists. I think the author was trying to make a point with some of the set pieces, poking fun at government agencies and crazy ideologues, but the execution was bad and left me feeling increasingly confused as I read it.

But it has dogs. Can't complain too much.

[Le Steinberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cam was an interesting character and I learned a bunch about nuclear power plants. I did not like that he didn’t figure out that his murdered employee Allie was related to someone at the plant or that Trask wasn’t the mastermind. I do plan on reading Deutermann’s other books, as his subjects are well researched.

[Andy2302 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave it 4 stars because it's better than a 3. Fast fun & short.

[Nancy Shaffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspenseful and witty. These books are hard to find. Scored this one on the 25 cent shelf at my library. One of the Cam Richter series.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it but it wove around too much.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

One can never go wrong with a Cam Richter story. Too bad I waited so long to read another one!

[Connie Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book, but I enjoyed the first 2 books of the series more. A little too much technical info in this one made it somewhat hard to follow.

[Denny · Rating 5 out of 5]

#3 KINDLE

[Phyllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had several "white-knuckle" moments! There is one more left in this short series and I am looking forward to it. I like the character Cam Richter.

[Jim Swike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Environmental thriller. It's a novel, but it feels like other true stories. Enjoy!

[Randi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it in one day at the beach. Kept me till the end!

[Brett T · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cam Richter has been given a load of reasons from some powerful people to keep his nose out of investigating the death of his employee, Allie Gardner. Everyone from the FBI to the security boss at the local nuclear power plant Allie may have visited suggest he let them handle her death, even when it turns out she was poisoned with a radioactive substance. But Cam, a former sheriff's officer turned private investigator, doesn't trust any of them and knows he's the only one more interested in finding out what happened to Allie than in protecting secrets and screw-ups.

2008's The Moonpool is the third Richter novel, following The Cat Dancers and Spider Mountain. Cam has settled in to his role as a private detective, wealthy enough to do the work he wants and let someone else do the work he doesn't. Allie was one of his detectives who liked following philandering husbands, so the first suspicion at her death falls on her previous cases. But the presence of radioactivity in her body turns attention to the Helios nuclear power plant, and no one there is much interested in letting a private detective with no security clearance nose around to find answers.

Deutermann has an easygoing style and has done a clear job of painting Cam over the three novels in the series to that point. Although Spider Mountain had significantly tamed the Plot Hole Syndrome that tangled Cat Dancers, the remission seems to have been only temporary, as the condition returns in force here. Both the ultimate villainous plan Richter has to thwart and the roadblocks he has to handle to get there are vaguely drawn and more than a little ridiculous where they aren't. Even Allie's death, the original spark for the who sequence, winds up resolved with an "Oh, by the way" quality that can make you wonder why any of these things happened -- or, indeed, why you should sit through more of them.

Original available here.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Cam Richter series...Its slowly grown on me...now its not the level of Joe Picket or Walt Longmire, but it sure is a fun read...Richter's agency loses one of its own, to of all things, radiation poisoning pulling Cam & company into an investigation of a nuclear power station targeted for sabotage...great, fun read!

[Ken Finlay · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Moonpool", third in the Cam Richter series, is ostensibly an actioner about a plot to unleash radiation from a nuclear power, but is also very much about how the American bureaucracy works, how it can be manipulated and how 'good' people make decisions that they shouldn't.
One of Cam's P.I.'s, Allison 'Allie' Gardner, dies from radiation poisoning while returning from Wilmington, North Carolina, after completing a run of the mill grounds for divorce case.
Within a short time Cam is contacted by the Helios Nuclear Plant, which may be the source of the radiation, and asked to prove the possibility of security at the plant being breached. There's an alphabet soup of Agencies involved and a head of security, retired Colonel Carl Trask, who is not happy at Cam's interference.
Cam soon finds himself in over his head and a very reluctant guest of the government in a former mental home which is now a local version of Guantanamo. And, despite the extreme security measures, he comes into contact with fellow detainee "Mad" Moira Maxwell.
Although only a peripheral character in "The Moonpool", "Mad" Moira had the potential to be the best part of the book but, sadly, it was not to be. There's a very, very slight chance that she could return in the future, but her prognosis must be considered bleak!
Author P. T. Deutermann, moves from the mostly rural locations of the previous two books to more urban and, sometimes, claustrophobic settings. It dilutes the part that can be played by Cam's German Shepherds, Frick and Frack.
The novel builds to a very satisfying and moving conclusion.
One slight criticism, Cam for all his experience both as with the police and as a P.I., keeps getting blindsided - way too many times.
Overall the pace is good, though it could have lost 50 or more pages without making much, there's a good sense of humour, and it kept me interested (in particular as the end approached).

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third book in Deutermann’s Cam Richter thriller series. Former cop Richter now runs a private investigation business. When one of his PI team members dies from exposure to radiation, Richter is led to look at a nuclear power plant in Wilmington, N.C to figure out what happened to her. As per usual in this series, Richter gets on the wrong side of the law because he won’t back off the case (this time with a Homeland Security twist). Also, as usual with the series, Richter ends up at one point trapped with a nasty critter (first book it was a mountain lion). And finally, per usual, Richter’s two German Shepherds – Frick and Frack – end up being the Most Valuable Players of the action and of the story.

I don’t read many macho thrillers and I seriously suspect this series won that slot in my reading attention because of those dogs. It’s not even that I’m a dog lover, but I get a thrill every time the dogs end up being a game-changer in the action. Also, while Cam Richter has work partners and a special lady friend, the true emotional core of the book is his relationship with his dogs as the ending makes clear.

I read The Moonpool in the week before my move and with its pages packed with action and peril, it was the right book for the time. I think there is at least one more book in the series which I plan to get to at some point.

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. It is set in my home state. I disliked The Cat Dancers but had ordered two by Deutermann via Audible. com and thought the series might grow on me. It did not. I realize that this is adventure fiction but even In adventure fiction, I prefer characters to either act rationally or have reasons presented why they do not. Cam Richter is presented as a competent policeman. But he, in The Cat Dancers, does the most ridiculous things for no discernible reasons. He blunders into encounters with mountain lions. He constantly falls into traps. In The Moonpool, he continues to fall the most obvious ruses, like meeting a dangerous man at night in a boat using GPS coordinates provided by the villain. The man proceeds to ram his boat of course. Then he goes into a snake house for no apparent reason except to create another contrived cliffhanger. He runs into not one but two booby traps on a trail set by the villain. He escapes by defying the laws of physics. I won't even discuss the ludicrous pine tree episode (don't think Deutermann has ever looked closely at a pine tree) I gave this book one star because there was no option for giving it zero stars.

[Tom Tischler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A private detective working in Wilmington N.C. is found in
a gas station restroom apparently poisoned. But when her body
sets off radiation alarms in the morgue suspicion falls on
the nearby Helios nuclear power plant. A heavily guarded facility
with supposedly fail safe procedures. The FBI, local police and
the plants own security begin an investigation. Cam Richter head
of the agency that employed the dead woman begins his own
inquiries. Cam soon finds himself up against a powerful force
that will stop at nothing to keep the plants problems secret. The
most vulnerable part of Helios is it's moonpool which is a radio-
active storage pond that cools spent reactor fuel. Racing against
time Cam discovers an inside threat that plans to use the plants
own system to begin an unstoppable disastrous series of events.
This is book three in the Cam Richter series and it's another
page turner well worth reading.

[Dan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the 3rd in a series of 4 books where Cam Richter was the main character. I read the last one first and then the other three. Outstanding stories of a former sheriffs deputy who opened up his on Private Eye office, using only retired law enforcement officers as his associates. The stories were thrilling, taking place in the areas all over North Carolina.

I have been in contact with the author and found that that there will be no more stories with this character as they did not sell as well as they had hoped.

I will still recommend these books as they are very entertaining...

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Main character Cal Richter (from The Cat Dancers and Spider Mountain) is back; this time he's looking into the weird and out of the ordinary sudden death of fellow teammate Allie Gardner. Somehow Allie has been poisoned by contaminated
water from 'the moonpool.' He brings his company, Hide & Seek Investigations, into the mix of FBI, Homeland Security and local police as they race to find who's tampering with a nuclear fuel reactor.

[Tony Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story which takes place in a small city in costal North Carolina is about a ficticious nuclear accident as perpetrated by some bad guys. I always enjoy Pete's novels and look forward to the next. He throughs a lot of realism into his stories that reflect his research for what is happening in the real world. Keep it up, Pete (a friend from the Naval Academy.)

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

3+ to 4-. Computer nerd terrorist, off the rails colonel, and a former police lieutenant and his 2 german shepherds battle it out with help /hindrance from FBI, homeland security , a local police sergeant, and the nuclear regulatory commission in this murder investigation turned deadly. A lot happening here! A lot of violence.

[Jason Paul McCartan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As usual, a great book by P.T. Deutermann. He's one of the few authors I actively seek out, and his books just go from strength to strength. I love the character of Cam Richter and look forward to seeing more books about him.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fall further in love with Cam Richer and his shepards in each of these books. While this one was my least favorite so far, I couldn't put it down. Getting ready to start the next book. I hope it not truly the last in the series and that there are more to come.