Contrails by Robert Anderson

4.0 out of 5 stars "You have to live with your mistakes. They're a part of you. They become you." 

 

Sam Claymore is furloughed from his job as first officer for Civil Air. Broke and with no other immediate options, he accepts an offer from an old friend to come down to Miami and work with him. Nate and Sam were best friends when they were both teenagers in Detroit. Sam's father was a DEA agent and often away from home. Sam's mother had left them both for the west coast and a new life, so Sam was often on his own. Nate was always a bit on the wild side, skirting the law and doing some low level drug dealing. So why is Sam so surprised to find that Nate has moved up in the drug business and is now trafficking cocaine. Sam is hired as a pilot -- initially against his better judgement -- to transport cocaine for a high level cartel out of Miami. Greed gets the best of him and he agrees to make multiple trips for the cartel. He's finally living the lifestyle he always wanted. When Civil Air announces a pilot recall, Sam agrees to one more flying job - with a 1.5 million dollar payoff just for one last trip. This trip changes his life.

I really enjoyed this short and fast-paced adventure novel. The details about the aviation business and about the activities of the captain and first officer during commercial flight were interesting and written by someone obviously knowledgeable about what goes on in the cockpit. Ultimately with a theme of the protagonist achieving possible redemption after making a very bad decision, the reader will be waiting with bated breath to see how Sam fares during his walk on the other side of the law and on the wrong side of good moral choices. Interesting and engrossing, I can't wait to read the next book in the series: Drug Wars (Contrails Saga: Book 2).

Thank you to NetGalley. AuthorBuzz and Intrepid Press for the e-book ARC to review.