Catalyst for Collapse

by Harry Stoddart

The official story says everything is under control. The glowing water says otherwise.

Journalist Karoline Reinhardt travels to Colombia to investigate a protest at a cutting-edge carbon capture site, expecting corporate spin, political tension, and a fight over land. She does not expect glowing water, dead hikers, and signs that something far more dangerous is moving beneath the official story.

Her sister, Dr. Sabine Reinhardt, is trying to step away from catastrophic systems and the damage they leave behind. But when Karoline is nearly killed and the evidence points toward a concealed environmental threat, Sabine is pulled back into a world of fractured data, hidden networks, and impossible choices.

What begins as an environmental mystery soon points to something far worse: a system built on concealment, a landscape pushed past its limits, and a mass-casualty event already beginning to unfold.

In a world of greenwashed promises, hidden networks, and deadly consequences, Sabine and Karoline must uncover the truth before the body count rises and the official story hardens into catastrophe.

For readers who like their thrillers smart, urgent, and unsettling, Catalyst for Collapse is a gripping techno-thriller of environmental collapse, corporate deception, and the dangerous line between control and stewardship.

358 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 30, 2026

About the author

Harry Stoddart is a former management consultant, farmer, sustainability strategist, and author. He grew up on a farm in rural Canada, where his mother sparked his love of nature by helping him catch tadpoles and butterflies—and his love of reading by making sure he was always surrounded by books. That early blend of curiosity and connection to the land laid the foundation for a career at the intersection of science, systems, and storytelling.
Harry has worked for a Fortune 10 tech company, a Big Four accounting firm, advised governments on agricultural policy, and managed thousands of acres as an organic and regenerative farmer. His first nonfiction book, Real Dirt: An Ex-Industrial Farmer’s Guide to Sustainable Eating, offered an unflinching look at modern agriculture and its alternatives.
His debut novel, Catalyst for Chaos, fuses cutting-edge climate science, AI ethics, and geopolitical intrigue into a gripping speculative thriller.
Harry now divides his time between consulting, writing, and his lakefront property, which serves as both sanctuary and creative retreat, nestled among oak trees, deer, curious chipmunks, and a cacophony of songbirds.