Book Review The Midnight Rambler

"The Midnight Rambler” is an action-packed crime thriller that merges environmental issues, federal and international agencies, the Italian Police Department, the Mafia, complicated family relationships, and a reign of terror with the emergence of The Rambler, a ruthless psychopath. Readers are swept up in one wild ride of non-stop action. The novel is set in several locations in southern Italy, Positano, Mt. Vesuvius, and Naples, where the military accompanies the environmental agency determined to stop the illegal dumping of toxic chemicals on Mount Vesuvius and thwart an impending disaster. Rival forces engage in fighting and action that escalates with the involvement of crime organizations. Trying to figure out the calculated moves of the elusive Midnight Rambler, Il Ramingo, consumes much of the action. Characters are diverse, compelling, and well-developed. 

The heart and central to the story is the female protagonist Sophie Grant. She is young but a tough experienced EPA agent dedicated to solving environmental crimes. She comes across an incredible scheme hatched by organized crime figures to dig profits out of toxic waste dumps. When she is pulled into her estranged father's Italy mob business connections, chaos erupts, and Sophie's relationship with her father is further complicated having been abandoned by him when she was young. Tensions mount with Il Ramingo's (the Midnight Rambler) calculated and chilling moves to undermine her work and then uses Sophie's half-sister Madeline as a hostage. Just when you think you have things figured out new motives emerge as well as alliances and unexpected deals negotiated between mob operations. There are high stakes for everyone with a heightened level of danger mounting.

“The Midnight Rambler” is an impressive piece of writing from debut author Don Carr. His stellar credentials of investigating and writing about America's worst polluters and working with different environmental agencies add a level of credibility to the storyline. After investigating renewable fuels program fraud, Carr immersed himself in the world of EPA special agents and environmental crime. After spending a month in southern Italy where Carr witnessed the burning of toxic waste on Mount Vesuvius the story of “The Midnight Rambler” was born. It's definitely an engrossing story, a page-turner with an important worldwide environmental message to share with all.

ALL ABOUT THE AUTHOR

For over fifteen years, Don Carr has investigated and written about America’s worst polluters from the gas fields of North Dakota to the “Dead Zone” in the Gulf of Mexico. His writing has been featured in Politico, Sierra Magazine, the Washington DC City Paper, the Huffington Post, Grist, Civil Eats, and the Food and Environment Reporting Network.

Carr has appeared on Fox News, the CBS Evening News, Bloomberg TV, and NPR. He’s also been a Senior Communications and Policy Advisor for the Environmental Working Group and a Senior Communications Manager at the Environmental Defense Fund.