Death of an Activist
an action thriller set in the amazon rainforest, the uranium fields of Canada, and the boardrooms of global capitols
When beautiful and iconoclastic activist Rose Smith is abducted and brutally murdered in the Amazon where she is working to prevent big oil from drilling on Indian lands, her former lover, investigative writer Ulyce Robideaux, sets out on a trans-continental journey to uncover the mystery behind her death.
Unbeknownst to him, he will be drawn into a web of international intrigue at the highest levels, which will endanger his life. Complicating matters is Marianne Popovich, who hoping to win Robideaux’s love, sets out on an odyssey of her own into Rose’s past that will not only reveal the true motivation for Rose’s activism but explicate a critical and missing part of her own life as well.
From the rapidly changing world of the traditional Amazonian Indians to the corridors of power on the world stage where compromise and treachery are the name of the game in an ongoing quest for money and power, Death of an Activist is a fast paced examination of energy geopolitics and its place in the world order.
Read an Excerpt from Death of an activist
They drove again for a time in silence and then Santiago said, “There is a car behind us.”
Robideaux looked back. An ancient red car was chugging along some distance behind. It’s just a car, Robideaux thought.
“Go faster, it won’t be able to catch up.”
Santiago increased the speed. The red car faded from view. Robideaux knew that hired guns operated swiftly and anonymously in the countryside. He wondered where Santiago’s cousin had gone and if he had told anyone of their destination. Santiago drove on.
“I am worried, señor, the road will bifurcate soon and we will be driving through tall grasses.”
“We will be fine,” Robideaux assured him. He began to worry as well but thought it might be too dangerous to risk passing the red car by turning back. He did not see it any more yet he did not want to take unnecessary chances.
The sun was up high in the sky and the paved road narrowed to the width of a lane as Santiago had said it would. The grasses brushed the sides of the car. There was nothing to be seen but greenery. They could not turn back now even if they had wanted to. Santiago was sweating. He ground his teeth faster and harder. He had to slow down. The road curved ahead and the grasses obscured his sight.
Robideaux looked behind them for evidence of the red car. Santiago made a sudden stop.
“What is it?”
“Do you not see?” There were bales of cut grass blocking the road.
“Take the pistol out of the glove compartment,” Santiago ordered. Robideaux pulled out an old nine millimeter.
“Do you know how to use it?” Santiago asked
“Yes,” Robideaux nodded.
“I must get out to clear the road. You cover me.” Santiago struggled with the door and finally opened it far enough to crawl out. Robideaux followed. He shut the door and sliding over the hood of the car crouched with his back to the grasses. Santiago untied the bales and kicked and pounded them down with his feet until they were flattened and the car could easily pass.
Robideaux heard a loud buzzing in his ears. It was a while before he realized the air was full of insects. He swiped his hand about his head.
“Hurry,” Santiago said.
Robideaux waited for him to get behind the wheel of the car and then followed. Santiago started the engine.
“Was it intended for us?” Robideaux asked
“Who can say?” Santiago replied. He was crawling along now. Robideaux saw that he was afraid.
“Go, if there is anything out there, we are going to have to face it sooner or later.” He kept the gun on his lap. Santiago set his jaw and stepped on the gas. His shirt was soaked with sweat. They drove through the seemingly endless grasses and then suddenly they were free and clear and in the open again. The wind blew through the open windows and Santiago and Robideaux raised their arms to cool off. The landscape rolled and trees grew on the sides of the road and beyond it.
“Shall I drive for a while?” Robideaux asked.
Santiago pulled over in a large clearing. He walked behind a clump of trees to relieve himself. Robideaux stretched and touched his toes. As he stood up he saw the red car. He dove into the front seat reaching for the gun.
“Santiago!” he shouted but it was too late, Santiago was in the open clearing, smiling at him. He had not seen it yet. Robideaux motioned toward the road with the gun and Santiago hit the ground. He crawled on his belly toward the car. Robideaux cracked open the door for him and he got in.
“Go, Go!” Santiago shouted, taking the gun from Robideaux.
Robideaux started the engine but the car stalled. “Again!” Santiago shouted.
Robideaux tried again but the red car pulled into the clearing. Santiago cocked the barrel of the gun. He aimed as the other driver got out. Robideaux crouched down and tried to start the car once more…
What Readers say:
Take notice George Smiley and Jack Ryan. There’s a new kid on the block. His name is Ulyce Robideaux. His sights aren’t set on this or that mid level villain but on the hidden movers behind so much disorder and suffering in today’s world.
The internet has exposed in almost real time, for all who have minds to think and eyes to see, the machinations of the fantastically rich and powerful yearning to accrue yet more riches and power by whatever means. Yesterday’s ridiculed conspiracy theories have become today’s respectable conspiracy facts. Yes, the ruling elite are indeed tirelessly conspiring to rob, kill and control. What are the West’s serial wars, grinding currency depreciation, corporate bailouts and relentless attacks on civil liberties if not high level conspiracies to enslave the many for the benefit of the few?
It is against this real world backdrop that L.S. Temmer casts her reluctant hero, cynical North American Indian writer, Ulyce Robideaux, on an odyssey to uncover the facts behind the disappearance in South America of the crusading activist, Rose Smith. Rose was working with an indigenous rain forest tribe to oppose yet another in a long history of land grabs by Western corporate interests when she was abducted and brutally murdered. With the assistance of his neighbor and girlfriend, Marianne, Robideaux discovers that philanthropic icons of impeccable social respectability aren’t really what they appear to be. The duo uncover a complex web of symbiotic ties persisting to the present, linking surviving members of the wartime O.S.S. to fugitive Nazi war criminals.
As they slowly sift through clues, Temmer’s couple assemble a disturbing jigsaw puzzle of attempts by some powerful players to exploit the coming oil shortages by ruthlessly conspiring to monopolize the mining and processing of the uranium needed to fuel nuclear power plants. Temmer employs her background in anthropological studies to weave a rich tapestry of exotic sights, sounds and beliefs. The story takes our protagonists from Toronto to New Mexico, South America, the Pacific northwest and finally to Manhattan. We learn as much about indigenous North American people’s art as we do about cornering energy markets.
Death of an Activist is not for those expecting a cartoonish Indian Rambo. It is instead a very well written, densely detailed novel for thinking readers who enjoy a challenging plot with a large cast of characters. Temmer’s villains aren’t Hollywood cardboard cutouts. They are living and breathing characters motivated, though perversely, beyond simple greed.
Death of an Activist resonates with current events. For that reason, I suspect that our troubled times will spawn many more stories of the adventures of Robideaux and Marianne.
Mickey Propadovich
As an inveterate reader of mysteries, I approached Death of an Activist with the usual expectations. So many mysteries are plot-driven: a reader can take only so many twists and turns, machinations, and maneuverings before they weary and exhaust the possibilities.
The best mysteries (to my mind) are character driven. That is not an easy feat to achieve in a book that bases its storyline on worldwide corporate greed and international intrigue. But Temmer succeeds in creating and developing characters that live and breathe in the real world, not just on the page nor just for the sake of the mystery. Robideaux, for one, is no superhero or superspy but the embodiment of a flesh-and-blood man with the strengths and foibles we all can learn to love. The reader develops an understanding of the complexity of these characters (even Rose, who is the dead activist!) and craves to know them better. What a delightful and wondrous way to begin a mystery series.
Joseph Senese
If you enjoyed Death of an Activist, read Book II of the Robideaux series End Game