Mandy Reviews: Hot Water by Erin Brockovich and CJ Lyons

ISBN #: 978-1-59315-684-8

Page Count: 275

Copyright: 2011

Publisher: Vanguard Press

Book Summary:

(Taken from dustjacket flaps)

Environmental activist AJ Palladino, first encountered in Rock Bottom, is no stranger to the juggling act of managing work and family. But when she's asked to leave home for a case involving a nuclear power plant, it takes all her strength to keep everything from crashing down on her.

Colleton River is a new, one-of-a-kind nuclear facility in South Carolina designed to create medical isotopes with the potential to save millions of lives. Recently, the plant has been plagued by a series of mishaps that, despite several investigations, remain unexplained. The accidents have caused local unrest and drawn the attention of anti-nuclear protest groups, as well as several homegrown terrorists who sense an opportunity to sow fear and chaos.

When Colleton River's owner contacts AJ for help, she knows she will have her hands full investigating the accidents and calming tensions at the plant. But AJ's simple business trip takes disastrous turns as she uncovers the source of the plant's accidents and, after an approaching hurricane prevents her from returning to West Virginia, her son disappears.

As AJ's life back home unravels, the plant hurtles toward nuclear catastrophe - with AJ caught between both worlds.

Can AJ stop the plant's meltdown and save the community, herself, and her son in time?

*Side Note: The first novel the AJ Palladino character was portrayed in was Rock Bottom, Erin Brockovich's debut novel. To read my review of Rock Bottom, click here.*

Mandy's Review:

Cover

The cover makes me think of heat, humidity and Southern summers ... which people in the South know it is not a pleasant thing to experience, especially if you're not used to it.

Plot

AJ and Elizabeth are hired to try and make a South Carolina nuclear plant acceptable by the townspeople. While AJ's away dealing with that, Elizabeth is fighting to keep David, AJ's son, safe.

Not to mention we have a radio-active alligator, an overzealous grandfather, a hitman trying to kill his target for the second time and a lawman trying valiantly to defend the woman he loves.

Main Characters

AJ - Still a single mom, but this time around she's permanently employed and has a stable home for her son. She tends to find herself in dangerous situations on a regular basis.

Ty - A local K9 officer who spends time with David, AJ's son, helping to give him a male role model.

Elizabeth - A lawyer and AJ's boss. She is slowly learning to appreciate and enjoy her single life in West Virginia, which is a lot different from her life in Philadelphia.

Overall

An easy read that is fast-paced and will keep you entertained until the end. I am interested in reading the third AJ Palladino novel, if only to see what happens with the lawman's budding relationship with the woman he's loved since they were kids.

I believe the AJ Palladino books are ones that most fans of Tom Clancy and John Grisham fiction would enjoy.