Matt Stromsoe and Mike Tavarez were the best of friends in high school. They marched in the band at the same time although Stromsoe was the Drum Major in their late years of school. Both boys loved Hallie, but Mike ended up winning her in marriage, which disappointed Matt. Mike was always into gangs in school and afterwards. Matt became a cop. Little did Matt know that his future included a marriage to Hallie after Tavarez had beaten and abused her during their married years. And, also unknown to Matt was that Tavarez would kill Hallie and their son Billie while intending to kill Matt because he had taken Hallie away from him. Matt survived the blast that occurred in their garage but with many injuries including a lost eye that was replaced by a glass eye. His physical injuries were terrible but his mental anguish was even greater.

Tavarez had become a thief and armed robber and was eventually caught and sentenced to prison while Matt went on to work for a private investigation firm. Tavarez became a controller of Mexican Mafia and other gangs in prison and by communication devices; he also was a boss of gangs outside of prison. His control dominated most of the gangs throughout the nation with the assistance of some corrupt prison guards. Matt finally felt more comfortable in talking with a woman reporter and told his story so all could know it. His story to the reporter started from his youth, his friendship with Tavares, the terrible torture given to Hallie, the marriage of Matt and Hallie, the birth of Billie, and the horrible death of Hallie and Billie.

Dan Birch, the owner of the PI firm that hired Stromsoe, received a call from a weather reporter in San Diego requesting protection from a stalker she had been seen too many times near her and taking pictures of her. The reporter, Frankie Hatfield, had also taken pictures of the stalker and was fearful for what his intention might be. Birch placed Stromsoe on the case. He was sent to San Diego to meet with and gather the facts of the case, view the pictures, and ascertain what needed done to protect Frankie.

Frankie and Matt hit it off very well and Matt knew he had to protect this woman to keep her safe and not hurt or killed like his wife and son had been. Frankie had a secret formula to make rain more intense that had been passed down from her grandfather but never written down. The formula was kept entirely in Frankie’s memory. Matt accompanied Frankie from site to site as she moved her reporting locations to various areas and backgrounds. Almost at once Matt saw the stalker and gave chase. The first chase was unsuccessful but he didn’t give up. His aching bones and joints gave him problems chasing but his desire to keep Frankie safe intensified his efforts.

The Department of Water and Power for the area was led by some that had heard of Frankie and her grandfather before her and their experiments about rain. They desperately wanted that formulas so they could make mountains of money controlling the rainfall that eventually fed the city of Los Angeles with their water supply. Eventually the contacts were established between the DWP and Tavarez in prison where he could arrange the brutalizing or killing of anyone. He had money and made more every day and felt he could buy anyone.

The desire for the power and control of the water supply and its use was strong and it seemed no obstacle was too much for those involved to dispose of anyone in the way. Stromsoe and Frankie, along with other law enforcement had their hands full trying to protect Frankie. Naturally the more Matt and Frankie saw each other the more interested they became in each other. This only enforced Matt’s desire to save her from any harm.

Storm Runners is an excellent story from which the reader can learn much about the infrastructure of water and power on the west coast of the United States. While fictional this story has the possibility of making us think about things such as control of nature through water control. T. Jefferson Parker spins a great story that will allow the reader to deeply think of what occurred in his story and the future possibilities of it actually occurring in some way.

REVIEWED BY CY HILTERMAN

DO NOT REPRINT WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE REVIEWER, CY HILTERMAN

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