Title: The Poseidon Project
Author: E. William Podojil
Genre: Suspense, Thriller
Book Blurb:
The Poseidon Project is the first novel in The Herb Society Mysteries series. It centers around Molly Halloran a group of her retired lady friends who call themselves The Herb Society, based upon a shared, secret history from when they were young women. Molly and her friends are unexpectedly pulled into an international debacle when her husband is kidnapped while on a business trip in Dubai. She learns that a game-changing technology called Project Poseidon is at the center of his abduction. Poseidon technology was designed to help millions of people, but its misuse can cause catastrophic consequences, and the kidnappers are trying to acquire it at any cost. Aided by her friends, her son Lukas and his Air Force special-ops boyfriend, the group travels the globe not only to rescue Molly’s husband, but to prevent an unimaginable future if the technology is misused.
Excerpt:
It was a map of currents in the Persian Gulf. Taylor studied the map and asked everyone to move closer so they could see the screen. “Okay, so this is the northeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. There’s Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and up here toward the point is Dubai,” Taylor explained.
“That’s the Strait of Hormuz, right?” Donna asked.
“Yep, and right next door is Oman. Dubai is closer to Oman than it is to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE,” Lukas pointed out.
“So what does this have to do with John?” Linda asked. “Other than showing us where Dubai is located, what are you suggesting?”
“Not suggesting anything right now, but wanted to show you something,” Taylor replied. “Lukas, can you click the animation on this map?”
Suddenly the arrows within the map started to move as Taylor studied it. “See how the currents churn counterclockwise? That’s consistent from what I remember. The current is affected by salinity and water temperature, so as it churns, it creates a system of lower pressure in the middle…more or less a gyre.”
Lukas pointed his finger to follow the current. “So if Dad’s boat was found off the coast of Palm Jumeirah, his paddle and life vest would have likely circled this gyre and ended up right back where they started.” Taylor nodded.
Molly jumped in. “The search is supposedly focused on where they found the kayak, but Taylor, you’re saying the boat had probably traveled a bit. John would have only been missing hours by this point, not days. How could his kayak still be relatively close to Dubai?”
“I’m going to take a stab here,” Taylor jumped in. “If currents were relatively predictable and there were no storms, which I don’t imagine there were since John probably wouldn’t have ventured out. But let’s assume it was normal, in thirty-six hours, John’s boat would have been closer to the coast of Iran than to Dubai.”
“The search was focused on the waters off Dubai. That’s what the embassy told me,” Molly responded.
“Mom, add that question to your list when you call the embassy. Ask them where the search has been conducted and where it will go next.”
Molly jotted that down. A question had been on her mind. “Isn’t the Persian Gulf pretty crowded with ships? I read there are traffic jams going through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Taylor nodded. “You have hundreds of oil tankers from the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia going in and out of the gulf every day. It’s a prime target for terrorists and also disputes between Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Iran. Iran has threatened to shut off the Strait due to sanctions imposed by the Americans.”
“So it’s a pretty busy place,” Molly confirmed.
“And a disaster waiting to happen,” Donna commented.
“Which is why it’s so heavily patrolled,” Lukas added. “I read that about twenty five percent of the world’s oil passes through the Strait and Persian Gulf every day.”
“Molly,” Taylor asked, “Lukas said the kayak was found by a pleasure boat out on a fishing trip, correct?”
Molly nodded. “That’s what the embassy told me.”
“Fishing areas usually begin about forty miles offshore. I wonder why the boat that found the kayak was closer to shore…five miles wasn’t it?” Taylor asked.
“Maybe it was more like a booze cruise,” Linda commented.
“Mom, I think that could be another question for your call tomorrow,” Lukas added.
It was already ten p.m. and Molly and her guests were fading. “I’ve got my alarm set for three a.m. tomorrow so I can speak with the embassy during their business day. We spent so much time talking we didn’t have time to check flights.”
“We can do that tomorrow,” Linda answered. “I’m way past my bedtime.”
After cleaning up, Linda and Betty boarded Donna’s golf cart. “No way I’m walking home tonight,” Betty said. “Too many coyotes out. We’ll see you tomorrow, Molly. I hope the embassy has some good news.”
Lukas walked Taylor to the door. Molly gave him a big hug. “Thank you for talking to us tonight. You sure know a lot about the world. I feel more informed, but there is something that doesn’t add up. You touched on it, Taylor, and it’s been nagging at me.”
“And what part was that?” Taylor asked.
“The paddle and the life vest. Why wouldn’t everything be in roughly the same place; the kayak, paddle, and the life vest, regardless of whether John’s body was in it,” Molly pointed out. “I can’t understand why search and rescue has not turned up anything else.
“I don’t know, Molly. I thought about that, too. The search and rescue part of me is wired into my DNA.”
“Well, good night and I hope to see you again, Taylor.” Molly returned back into the house leaving Lukas and Taylor alone on the front porch.
“Well, you are a bountiful supply of information,” Lukas thanked him. “Thanks for engaging my mom and her friends. That was sweet of you. I think you gave my mom a bit of hope.”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-poseidon-project-e-william-podojil/1145692104?ean=9781509256846
What makes your featured book a must-read?
The Poseidon Project is a fast-paced, international thriller involving Molly Halloran and her retired-scientist friends who call themselves the Herb Society. The four women share a secret past that draws them into a cat-and-mouse game involving stolen, life-destroying technology that has fallen into the wrong hands. The story takes off from a Tucson retirement community to the oil-rich Emirates and enemy states surrounding the Persian Gulf. Joining Molly is her son Lukas and his potential love-interest, Taylor who fly the group to Dubai to pay a ransom for a kidnapped family member. Once there, they learn how dire the situation truly is and discover they have been lured into a deadly trap set by vengeful man with a personal vendetta. The Herb Society, Lukas and Taylor piece together the mystery and explore an intricate web of treachery and lies that mask the unthinkable; a conspiracy to rebalance global wealth and power by manipulating the world’s most valuable resource and risking all life on Earth.
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Author Biography:
E. William Podojil has worked as a writer, advisor and international business executive while living in the Netherlands and the United States. He studied screenwriting at UCLA. His first novel was published in 2004. His latest novel, The Poseidon Project, was published by Wild Rose Press in 2024 as the first book in the Herb Society Mysteries series. The second book in the series, Archipelago, will be published in 2025. Podojil currently resides in Northeast Ohio with his husband and three sons. He travels extensively and writes about his experiences on his website www.ewpodojil.com
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