"Six Seconds"

Rick Mofina is the acclaimed author of the award-winning Reed-Sydowski series (If Angels Fall, Cold Fear, Blood of Others, No Way Back and Be Mine) and the new internationally-acclaimed Jason Wade series (The Dying Hour, Every Fear and A Perfect Grave.)

He applied the Page 69 Test to his new novel, Six Seconds, and reported the following:

Six Seconds is my ninth novel and my first standalone. A global thriller, it's the story of how a California mother's anguished search for her abducted son, and a haunted Mountie's investigation into the strange deaths of an American reporter and his family in the Canadian Rockies, lead them to uncover a global plot to assassinate a world leader on U.S. soil – using the California boy as the weapon.

On Page 69, the cop, Daniel Graham, a Corporal with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, helps Jackson Tarver, a grieving grandfather from metro D.C., collect the bodies of his grandchildren and daughter-in-law. The body of Tarver's son Ray has not been located and the search continues in Alberta's Rockies. This point of the book outlines the problem Graham faces - was the tragedy a wilderness accident, or was it something else? Moreover, it deepens the mystery and compels the reader to ride shotgun with Graham in his pursuit of the truth - wherever it may lead.

Six Seconds - Page 69:

In the morning, Graham rose early and drove Jackson Tarver two hours west to Banff, then deep into the Faust region to where it happened. Jackson Tarver tossed roses into the river where his grandchildren, daughter-in-law and, most likely, his son had died.

That afternoon, Graham accompanied him to the airport and badged his way through to the gate where they watched three casket-shaped containers roll along the luggage conveyor and into the cargo hold of Tarver's plane.

Before he boarded, Tarver took Graham's hand and shook it.

"I heard what you did, how you risked your life trying to save Emily. Thank you."

"No thanks necessary."

"I hope that you'll find my son, so that he can come home with his family." Tarver's grip was like that of a man fighting to keep from breaking into pieces. "Please."

"I'll do my best."

Graham stayed at the window watching Tarver's jet roll slowly from the terminal, turbines whining, running lights strobing, until his cell phone rang.

"Graham, it's Fitzwald."

"Fitz, did you find the laptop?"

"No laptop, but I did find something you should see."

Read an excerpt from the novel and watch the video trailer.

Visit Rick Mofina's website.

Check out the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.

--Marshal Zeringue