As a lifelong reader, I have consistently stood by the adage that “the book is always better” when asked about the film or television adaptations of novels.

This is firmly at play with Jeffery Deaver’s extraordinarily successful Colter Shaw series. CBS's “Tracker” is enjoyable and one of the top-rated shows currently on network television. However, there is nothing like experiencing one of Deaver’s novels. His latest proves just how much grittier and exciting these fictional adventures are on the written page.

In SOUTH OF NOWHERE, Colter teams up with his sister, Dorion, a disaster response specialist, as their paths converge amidst what appears to be a major natural disaster in Hinowah, a small Northern California town. A levee collapses and initially causes some major life-threatening damage. Soon it may bring about much larger destruction that could wipe this small town off the map.

"SOUTH OF NOWHERE is the most high-octane adventure in this series thus far. Deaver packs it full of surprises and pitfalls that will keep you unsteadily turning each page with all the tension that has been built."

What you get from these books that are missing from the TV show are the constant mantras that run through Colter’s head, which he picked up from his survivalist father. Throughout this story, he hears his dad say things like: Never be without a means of escape. Never be without access to a weapon.

The situation in Hinowah becomes dire quickly, and the mayor is fortunate that Dorion is nearby. As soon as she arrives on the scene, she assists in planning the evacuation of residents to higher ground. Ironically, her brother shows up for completely different reasons. An SUV from out of town containing a family of four that included two children was swept away by the first levee break and capsized underwater. Colter knows they do not have long to stay in that position if they are going to be rescued instead of recovered.

With Colter’s help, which includes his tracking drone and external assistance from his trusty team, the rescue mission is a highlight of this novel and literally breathtaking in its level of suspense. Once he is done, he teams up with Dorion to assist with the efforts in Hinowah. They quickly observe that something strange is taking place at the mines owned and operated by Gerard Redding.

When Colter attempts to get a better look at that landscape, he is suddenly attacked by a henchman who may or may not have been operating on his own. Colter barely escapes this brawl with the dangerous, much larger man, but it will not be the last time we see this guy. All this does is raise the suspicion that something is happening at the mines and that Redding may be behind it all --- even if this means that the levee disaster is not natural but an act of major sabotage for ulterior reasons.

A murder rocks the town at the height of this levee threat, and Colter uncovers secret documents that point to the disaster being part of a huge plot. Deaver keeps up the pressure and intensity with a countdown towards final impact when the levee fully gives out, and that literal stopwatch allows readers to feel the same pressure that the Shaws are experiencing. SOUTH OF NOWHERE is the most high-octane adventure in this series thus far. Deaver packs it full of surprises and pitfalls that will keep you unsteadily turning each page with all the tension that has been built.