I finished a book before the end of the year that was just sitting on my shelf for quite a while. It was a bargain purchase, and while it grabbed my interest enough to buy it, it never called out my name to pick it up and actually read it - until now.

The idea behind the book is that a terrorist group is threatening to cause earthquakes in California unless the governor will freeze construction of all power plants in the state.

The cast of characters includes a charismatic but illiterate commune leader named Priest, a driven, tough and smart FBI agent who is the victim of some interoffice politics in being passed over for a promotion she richly deserves, and a seismologist who defies the professorial stereotype.

It isn't ruining anything to tell the reader up front that Priest wants to stop a specific power plant construction - the one that is going to ruin the valley they live in and grow grapes for the wine they produce. Or that in order to cause these earthquakes they must steal a seismic vibrator, which is a device used by oil companies in exploration.

It's a pretty good story, and the characters are ones I wouldn't mind reading more about, especially the FBI agent. The parts of the book concerning her deductions and her actions were probably the best parts of the book for me.

It's been years since I read EYE OF THE NEEDLE, but recall that I enjoyed it when I did read it. This book is probably not as good as that story, and is far from the best thing I read in 2005, but it was entertaining and distracting at a time when I needed both.

Have a great new year!

Scott