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Book Reviews of Critical Reaction

Critical Reaction
Critical Reaction
Author: Todd M. Johnson
ISBN-13: 9780764210150
ISBN-10: 0764210157
Publication Date: 11/15/2013
Pages: 368
Rating:
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 5

3.7 stars, based on 5 ratings
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

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My Comments
Kieran and his supervisor, Taylor, have to complete one more night in the dark side of Lab Building 5 (LB5) as stand-ins for the regular sampling crew. Its supposed to be a routine job and theyre both looking forward to finishing it well. Kieran is given one last set of instruction for the night from his boss, Go check out room 369. It used to be a storage locker. Should be clean. Take air and dust samples then come back to me. Ill be here in room 301, he said, gesturing across the hallway. Seems like a waste of time for our last night. The permanent crew should be able to handle sampling these corners of the building when theyre back tomorrow. But there you are. And lets move it along. This is our last night here, so if we get the checklist done, Im sending us home early. Kieran and Taylor do not get to leave early, they barely survive what happens next.

***LAB BUILDING 5***
The explosion impacts the entire community, but there are two workers that are mostly affected by the investigation afterwards. Then when Kieran sues the company with the interest of finding out whether he has radiation poisoning, it becomes a civil suit with surprising results.

Both Poppy and Kieran are racked with coughing spasms and headaches, are not able to function the same at their jobs, and become targets by Covington Nuclear. The more answers they attempt at getting, the riskier the story becomes for them.

The two movies this book reminded me of are Chain Reaction with Keanu Reeves and Erin Brockovich with Julia Roberts.

From the summary: Emilys estranged father, Ryan, has the courtroom experience they need, but hes grown jaded and weary of the profession. Still, its a chance to rebuild ties to Emily. Ryan is conflicted about helping the case, but every time he decides to walk away, he has a change of heart knowing his daughter needs him. It was frustrating seeing that conflict within him, but towards the middle of the story his involvement becomes more concrete.

I enjoyed Poppy the most from the characters. Its an intense story and hes an enhancement to all that goes on. He also doesnt back down under pressure and I loved that about him. I didnt agree that he kept his wife and family out of the loop for so long, but he finally fixes that and gets their total support. He spends most of the story tracking down his former partner who was mysteriously transferred after the explosion with no explanation. I enjoyed the part in the story when Poppy meets Kieran, even though that wasnt pleasant.

I thought this book was more fast paced, but it didnt feel that way for me. An overall good read, but it took most of the plot before I felt grabbed by the story, probably not until about the last 100 pages. It was interesting reading about lawyers and how to get the system working for you instead of against you. Even though there is violence in the story, theres nothing inappropriate. There is plenty of corruption, betrayal, and injustice within, but there is also friendship and exposing said injustice. The best part was reading how Ryan and Emily work together through the trial.

I want to thank Bethany House for the review copy provided. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.