Marshall Karp’s latest novel opens with one of the most stunning large-scale tragedies that I can remember in recent thriller fiction. It is August 21st, and the temperature is already near 90 degrees in New York City. However, from her 10th floor apartment, 92-year-old Aurelia Gladstone is about to witness something that she needs her housekeeper to confirm for her. It appears to be snowing outside as large chunks of white flakes are falling upon midtown Manhattan.

This is what everyone around Central Park is experiencing that morning, only most are falling on their faces once they become engulfed in the snow. For this is not snow from the heavens, but billions of dollars of extremely potent cocaine that is being dumped from a small plane turned drug crop duster. The effects are tragic with upwards of a hundred men, women and children killed and/or extremely sickened by this apparently senseless attack. Animal lovers also will be heartbroken to learn that every single creature perishes at the Central Park Zoo.

"SNOWSTORM IN AUGUST is an intense novel and the perfect beach-read thriller.... [Karp's] book has many of the same page-turning, cliff-hanging moments that made [his] collaboration [with James Patterson in the NYPD Red series] so much fun to read."

The responsible party is notorious drug lord Joaquin Alboroto, one of the most dangerous men on the planet. He has a major vendetta against the city of New York, which he holds responsible for the death of his wife and child. Regrettably, this ambush is just the first step in his master plan. To thwart such a maniac will require mercenary types who are able to operate independently but can get the job done at any cost. Former NYPD captain Danny Corcoran is responsible for leading this group. He had run a similar task force under then-Police Commissioner Trace Baker, but they were disbanded, much to his chagrin.

Now, four anonymous billionaires have stepped forward to fund a new team to be put together by Corcoran, a fledgling counterterrorism unit that essentially will make things up as they go along and pull out all the stops to prevent another tragedy in the Big Apple. Corcoran spends a good portion of the novel traversing the globe to assemble the unique personnel required to stop Alboroto --- top cops, all of whom are retired.

Meanwhile, the second phase of Alboroto’s plan is being put into action. He has completely cut off all illegal drugs to NYC. While the mayor is claiming victory in the war on drugs, Corcoran and his colleagues see the big-picture problems this will cause --- looting, rioting, a rise in petty crime and much worse as a result of drug addicts not being able to get their fix. It will be more than the NYPD can handle.

Just as Corcoran’s team is getting put into place and tapping into intel around the globe and in Mexico City to find out what the next blow will be, they learn of the final step in Alboroto’s plan. He intends to release on the drug-hungry streets of NYC a highly potent grade of cocaine laced with methanol that will turn all those who use it blind. This will lead to epidemic levels of permanent injury, and it seems there is no way to prevent it from happening.

SNOWSTORM IN AUGUST is an intense novel and the perfect beach-read thriller. Marshall Karp may not be a household name, but James Patterson fans will know him as the co-author of the popular NYPD Red series. Obviously, Karp has learned well from his time spent with the master. This book has many of the same page-turning, cliff-hanging moments that made their collaboration so much fun to read.