The High Ground

A Novel of Terror in San Francisco

Fiction - Thriller - Terrorist
516 Pages
Reviewed on 05/26/2011
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Author Biography

Mark Patrick Cotter (1957 -- ) was born in Long Beach, CA; but grew up first around Boston, MA; and later in the Bay Area. He attended first Oceana and then Terra Nova High Schools in Pacifica. He then went to college at UC Santa Cruz and San Francisco State University, where he received a B.S. degree in Earth Sciences. He then attended graduate school at the University of Maine, Orono, achieving an M.S. degree in Geological Sciences. While living and working in Maine and California as a geologist, he continually wrote short stories and submitted them to magazines and writing contests. His influences include Tom Clancy,Harlan Ellison, Stephen King and Armistead Maupin.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Lynette Fowlston for Readers' Favorite

In the High Ground by Mark Cotter people in San Francisco lived their everyday life never expecting terrorists had targeted the city to be their next victims. They had no idea the world as they knew it was about to change. At 8 a.m. the Oakland Bay Bridge was covered with traffic, people going to work, parents taking children to school, people going about their normal everyday life. Suddenly, an explosion rocked the upper deck of the bridge. People reacted with sheer panic, trying to get off of the bridge...cars landed in the bay...there was nowhere to go, and traffic jammed both directions. A voice with an Arabic accent was heard over the air waves, “To the people of San Francisco and the Bay Area. At this moment you are all my hostages.”

How did the terrorists get into the United States? The terrorist headquarters was on the High Ground in the Bay area, the Sutro Tower and from there they could fire a missile to anywhere in the area. They threatened to blow up other bridges if their demands were not met. The President and the Defense teams quickly began to make decisions. Will they catch the mastermind behind this terrorist attack on U.S. soil?

This was a well thought out and planned event that leads to an exciting conclusion. The United States is in economic crisis and unemployment is at an all time high. Our borders are not secure, and the country is in turmoil. It would be easy to see what happens in this book happening in reality.

This book has twists and turns that will keep the reader eagerly turning the pages. This fast-paced, action-packed thriller will make the reader wonder...could this actually happen? Yes, it could! With today’s technology, nothing is impossible; no country is truly safe. The tension just keeps building capturing the reader’s attention and holding it to the end. I found it very hard to put this book down. It has a great cast of characters and I would like to see this made into a movie--it would be a box office hit.