Gambit

Cameron Talbot Mystery #2

by Karna Small Bodman, Julie McKay (Narrator)

“A truly frightening story with the crystal ring of truth and authenticity; well written, well plotted and as topical as a novel can get.” —Nelson DeMille, New York Times bestselling author

  “Not only does Bodman know the White House inside and out, she also knows how to tell a gripping, fast-paced tale of political intrigue filled with the kind of delicious insider detail most other novelists have to make up.” —Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author

“A nail-biter…You will not turn out the lights until you have read through to the last page.”      —The Washington Times

  “Bodman’s insider knowledge of government operations and the scary plausibility of the story line make this worth reading.” —Library Journal

 
In this second book of the White House national security thriller series, Dr. Cameron Talbot, a famous expert on missile defense systems, returns to investigate how American airplanes could plummet from the sky—though nothing shows up on radar and none of the usual terrorist suspects have claimed responsibility.

 With the country in a panic and the economy taking a nose-dive, the beautiful scientist finds herself once again enmeshed in international plots as well as a romantic triangle in the highest levels of government.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery Thriller

Audible Audio

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Karna Small Bodman served in The White House for 6 years - last post: Senior Director of the National Security Council. She was also on the air for 15 years as a TV News Reporter and Anchor in S.F., L.A., and D.C. Now she's writing political thrillers based on her White House experiences. On tour, she has given over 80 speeches to groups nationwide."

Series:
* Cameron Talbot Mystery
* Samantha Reid Mystery

Reviews

[Michael Chrobak · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled with whether or not to give this one more stars. The author does write well, and it is an intriguing story with some fairly intense moments. So why only 3 stars? Because I almost gave it only 2. Here’s why:

1 - the author has no reason to ‘prove’ herself-she obviously has the credentials to know what she’s writing about, at least in the political arena-and yet, I got the feeling throughout that she was trying to prove she had eaten at that certain restaurant she conveniently fit into the story, or that she really had been at that one hotel, or been in that one part of the White House, etc.
2 - the author also suffers from an acronym definition disease of some sort. Almost every chapter (and there were 76 chapters) she used an acronym, followed immediately by someone spelling out what it stood for. Every time. 😢
3 - the author also suffers from youmeanitis. What’s that? It goes like this:
Character 1 - “I’m going to call Janis”
Character 2 - “You mean the Director of the FBI?”

or like this:

Character 1 - “Let’s meet at the OEOB”
Character 2 - “You mean the Old Executive Office Building?”

Time after time she would use an abbreviation and then immediately spell it out...even when the two characters speaking should both know the acronym.
4 - 25% of this book was blank page space. As I said earlier, there were 76 chapters - and yet only 300 pages meaning there was an average of 4 pages per chapter. With each chapter starting off with 1/2 page blank, and almost every chapter ending with 1/2 page blank, that’s 1 full page out of every 3 that was blank.
5 - It all ended WAY to easily and WAY to quickly. After 70+ very short chapters, with no one having a clue what was going on yet, suddenly they solved every mystery, saved the world, and went off to have 2/3rds of a page worth of well detailed sex...which really didn’t feel like it should have been in there. Up until that point there were references to affairs and encounters, and a kiss or two, and then suddenly-BAM- hit you right in the face gratuitous sex. Why? It wasn’t a romantic thriller. It wasn’t needed!

Sorry to say I will not be reading ANY more of this authors work.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This had the makings of a good thriller however, all of the romantic parts seemed very juvenile, like something involving teenagers rather than adults. And there was no depth to the antagonists, very one-note, which made them much less interesting than they could have been.

[Deb Haggerty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intrigue at its best

Along with bite your nails suspense and action. Bodman’s series is on a par with the greats of military and political mystery/suspense.

[Military Writers Society of America (MWSA)]

MWSA Review

Gambit is the second book in Karna Small Bodman’s White House National Security Series. In this installment, Dr. Cameron Talbot, a brilliant young American scientist takes on the mystery of American civilian planes being shot down with no warning on radar and no claims of responsibility from any terrorist group. The result is panic for pilots, flight attendants, and potential flyers as well as the airlines and a falling stock market. Talbot continues to struggle with lack of support from her boss who is overridden by a request from the White House to solve this problem. As usual, she has an idea. She is once again paired with Lt. Col. Daniels, who left her without explanation after a romantic interlude in India, causing her much personal stress. When her name is leaked to the media as working on a solution, someone tries repeatedly to kill her.

Relevant details from the first book are nicely woven into this story so that it can be read as a stand-alone novel. Bodman’s knowledge of the White House, as a result of serving in the Reagan administration, allows her to include details of not only the buildings but also the complexities faced by any administration. The book would profit from a final proofreader as there are many typos, misspellings, and punctuation errors. However, these do not interfere significantly with this well crafted story.  

Review by Nancy Kauffman (June 2019)

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light easily readable thriller with intriguing plot, good female characters and a good sense of woman and male interaction. However, I find the pseudo science that the main character is supposed to know is just not believable.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read. Fictional follow-on to the Space based SDI.

[Marisa Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as her others.

[Elizabeth Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was frustrating since I had not read the first book but once accepted the fact there was a constant mention of previous book. The story was unique in itself, the technology definitely could be created. It kept going and not slow down through out the book. Interesting read and definitely think I may read more of her books