Sage Mendiluze book 1
Blackstone Pub
May 2025
Rockets’ Red Glare by William Webster and Dick Lochte combines adventure, action, and the settings of the National Forests, Parks, and Wyoming’s Wind River Indian Reservation. Many thrillers have been recently written set in the US national parks. This is one with a riveting premise.
“We have been outdoors people our entire life. It is a part of who we are and if someone wants to strike at who we are there is no better place than the parks. I think they define us as Americans. On July 4th, there will be 25 million people at the national parks.”
The plot begins with the shooting and killing of two wilderness guides. Because the fatal shots came from Wyoming’s Wind River Indian Reservation, Tribal Police Deputy Sage Mendiluze, half-Shoshone, half-Basque, and his Australian Shepherd Peak, are called in to hike the rugged backcountry and investigate. Trying to find out where the sniper exactly shot from, Sage and his dog just escape, becoming two more casualties when an IED device is tripped. He realizes that there are two perps involved.
“Peak was trained as a Marine IED search dog. The dogs are trained to sniff and get close. He was doing it in an environment he was not used to, a mountain setting not a roadside. In one scene, Sage saw Peak got too close and they barely escaped with their life. He was modeled after my dog (William) who is not an Australian Shepherd, but half Pomeranian, half Husky. She looks like only a Husky but is the size of a shoebox. I needed a larger dog that is more suited to the backcountry of the Rockies. Peak is a co-protagonist, in some ways a foil to Sage. She is Sages’ soulmate.”
“The Secret Service and most law enforcement worry the most about asymmetric unmanned drones and viral attacks from the outside. In the story both were used as elements of the terrorist attack. The Chinese weaponed the Marburg virus in a lab in real life and the kamikaze drone that can fit in a tennis ball can. They both exist and are used as weapons.”
Readers meet the killers once the national search begins. They are twin brothers from Brooklyn, Alan and Harry Conner, who were born in Pakistan as Ali and Harzat Khan. Besides having the body count multiply in the national parks with sniper rifles, they also add drones and a virus to their cache of weapons. Because Sage has great tracking skills, he and Sage are asked to join the joint agency task force headed by Special Agent Maggie Comstock.
Because it is the height of summer it is impossible to shut down the national parks. With the July 4th holiday approaching it becomes a necessity to find the preparators before a catastrophic number of casualties occur.
Sage is a compelling hero. He is a loner who is smart, resourceful, driven, has common sense and reasoning, with a strong sense of justice. As a former Marine sniper, he can get into the killers’ heads. His counterpart, Maggie, is a red-haired, blue-eyed Georgian who is a great partner with her directness and strong insight. As the two work together it becomes evident that they developed a bond and make a perfect team.
“Sage He was a Marine, bullied as a child, confident, sometimes emotional, and has a specialty of tracking. His grandmother had a relationship with Chief Washakie, that enabled him to use the reservation to hone skills he has used later in life. Because he was half Native American and not white, he became solitary, shunned by both communities. He was bullied to a point that he decided to leave the reservation and join the Marines.”
“Maggie is based on a woman I know, (William) a flaming red head who lives in Montana. She has great intellect and athleticism. She worked for the Special Investigative Branch of the National Park service, equivalent to their FBI. Maggie has insight, organized, decisive, tough, and is no-nonsense. She is willing to go toe-to-toe with anyone, and leads the task force, taking the jurisdiction away from the local sheriff and the FBI.
The ticking time clock creates an atmosphere of danger and suspense. Readers will be looking forward to book two because there are still some unresolved issues.
