One of my favorite authors is the always reliable Jon Land, whose books combine top-flight thrills with intricately researched narratives. I was beyond excited to learn that he was teaming up with his friend, reviewer and author Jeff Ayers, to pen novels under the pseudonym A. J. Landau. This new series brings us something completely unique --- high-octane thrillers set in the world of the National Park Service.

To kick it all off with the proper level of intensity, Landau has created an epic tragedy that could rival the horrific events of 9/11. In the Prologue, 15-year-old Danny Logan is visiting the Statue of Liberty with his parents and younger sister. He is recording their experience on his cell phone when he comes across something that seems odd to him. Having a superior knowledge of the boats used in the local fleet, he films one that is supposed to be out of commission. At the helm are a handful of men, one quite larger than the others, who appear suspicious and out of place.

"What makes LEAVE NO TRACE stand above similar thrillers is the use of the expert research I referred to earlier.... Huzzah, A. J. Landau, and here's hoping you are hard at work on the next Walker/Delgado adventure!"

Moments later, an explosion rocks the base of the Statue, knocking Lady Liberty down and burying hundreds of people in rubble. The final death toll will reach nearly a thousand.

We then shift briefly to Virginia where Special Agent Michael Walker of the National Park Service is located. He receives an emergency call from his boss, Angela Pierce, who insists that he drop everything and head directly to Liberty Island in New York Harbor. The FBI is there as well, led by Assistant Special Agent Gina Delgado. There is the expected power play up front before Walker and Delgado decide to play nice with each other as they realize they are on the same side. This is mainly done because Delgado knows that Walker lost both his foot and his wife in a famous showdown that happened at a park out west. Even though Walker might not have the proper clearance for an event of this magnitude, he possesses an acute knowledge of the national parks, and his heroic reputation precedes him.

Walker gets wind of Danny Logan, who is the only survivor from his family, and sees the video on the smashed cell phone. This could have been either an inside job or an act of domestic terrorism, which raises the threat scale significantly. It also indicates that this may not be the only attack at a prominent landmark planned for the continental US. When the experts at the FBI run Danny’s footage, they get a match on the big man from the ship. It turns out he was an ex-military ops officer named Abel Rathman, who was listed as deceased in a helicopter crash years earlier, and the other men working with him were most likely members of his military team also listed as killed in duty.

Walker and Delgado identify someone on the inside at Liberty Island who was working to help Rathman and his team. His name is Tom Fenton, and he is later found dead in his Queens apartment. Following a harrowing bit where Walker must save Danny’s life as he is treated in a Manhattan hospital, he and Delgado are immediately called out to Philadelphia where the next potential terrorist act may be set for Independence Hall.

Before readers are able to catch their breath, the pair jettison off to St. Louis where bombs have been placed inside the trams on the Gateway Arch. More causalities ensue, and the group behind these attacks are far from done. No national park or landmark is safe, and there does not seem to be enough people across the country to cover them all. I will not reveal the name or identity of the villainous team leader and his cohorts, but I can say that they have a massive cache of weapons hidden somewhere and an agenda that is extremely timely with our current political climate.

Even the President herself is not safe from attack, as Delgado gets the call to provide protection in D.C. Meanwhile, Walker will end up facing off against an adversary from his infamous past, as well as another powerful figure he knows personally.

What makes LEAVE NO TRACE stand above similar thrillers is the use of the expert research I referred to earlier. Each chapter is prefaced by a historical fact about whatever area is being detailed at that time --- and there are plenty in this story that hurtles at breakneck speed from the East Coast to the West Coast. Huzzah, A. J. Landau, and here's hoping you are hard at work on the next Walker/Delgado adventure!