The Bag Boys' Jihad: 2 (Winston Sage Trilogy)

I for the life of me cannot understand why the terrorists have not attackedour food supply because it is so easy to do.--Tommy Thompson U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services December 7 2004 Just before he was killed Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al Zawahiri meet with alQaedas Shura Council in an abandoned house in Pakistan. They discuss plans for a new holywar a large-scale bioterrorism attack on the US. For this war they will partner with their formerenemy the Iranians. The plan includes collecting samples containing infectious agents such ascholera germs from patients seen in hospital emergency rooms in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Thesamples are then sent to a makeshift laboratory in North Waziristan where the pathogens arepropagated and packaged for shipment to the US. Meanwhile in the US a network of American-bornradicalized teen-agers is recruited and deployed as bag boys in supermarkets. When Winston Sage M.D. an offbeat retired epidemiologist living in Santa Fe was invited toserve on a boondoggle State Committee on Bioterrorism the last thing he could have imaginedwas that he would unravel al Qaedas planned strike on the US; be enlisted by the FBI; and bepersonally commended by the President at the White House. Sages unorthodox thinking clasheswith the FBI but ultimately helps abort the attacks--well almost.Praise for The Bag Boys Jihad: As in Gruffermans (The Warring States Conundrum 2017) preceding novel Win is a likableprotagonist. He has strong opinions but is open to others suggestions; consequently peoplelisten to him even if his early declaration of an epidemic sounds far-fetched. The author astutelyshows the intricacies of the terrorists plan especially the multitude of participants. Some aredevout while others are horrified upon realizing the leaders consider certain individualsexpendable. Intelligent dialogue makes discussions about various strains of disease perfectlycomprehensible aided by a steady momentum via brief chapters. Humor comes primarily fromWins wife Julia whose sardonic comments are endearing. Once Win is entangled in thepotential terrorist plot she simply says: I told you not to get involved with this dumb project.An absorbing jihadist thriller bolstered by complex villains and a winsome levelheadedprotagonist. --Kirkus Reviews