Diamondhead-Patrick Robinson

Diamondhead
Patrick Robinson
Vanguard, May 2009, $25.95
ISBN 9781593155094

In Central Iraq, insurgents fire internationally outlawed Diamondhead missiles at an American tank convoy. Several men die in their fried tanks. Outraged Navy SEAL Lieutenant Commander Mackenzie Bedford rejects the surrender of the dozen or so culprits who killed his men; instead he executes the unarmed enemy.

Following a court martial in San Diego, the navy discharges Mack, but does not pursue homicide charges. In Dartford, Maine, his wife Anne informs Mack that their ailing son Tommy is dying from a rare disease similar to leukemia that will cost at least one million dollars for the experimental full bone marrow operation, which is the only chance to save his life. To help pay the tab, Mack accepts a commission from the local shipbuilder Remson to assassinate right-wing French politician Henri Foche who is running for President of France; Mac has an added incentive in killing Foche; a major stockholder in the company that develops the banned Diamondhead missile.

Over the top of Mt. Katahdin, DIAMONDHEAD is a fabulous action-packed thriller from it opening sequence in Iraq to the military trial in San Diego to coming home in Maine and finally to France. Mack is terrific as an obstinate hero with a mission that takes him on a linear path while not allowing any adversary to get in his way. Ignore the plausibility as this is a fun tale of a dad on a quest to save his son.

Harriet Klausner