Whitewash » (Abridged, 5 CDs, 6 hours)

Alex Kava is an international bestselling suspense writer. Her work has been widely praised by critics and fans alike, and her previous novels in the Maggie O'Dell series, A Perfect Evil, Split Second and The Soul Catcher, have spent several weeks on the New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller lists.

Tallahassee, Florida Sabrina Galloway is one of the top scientists at EchoEnergy - a company that has made a successful breakthrough in the quest for an alternative fuel. There is the promise of a cleaner tomorrow, and the economic impact on world markets could be staggering. But in the euphoria of excitement, Sabrina makes an alarming discovery: someone has tampered with the production process, and an eco-disaster of equally staggering proportions is imminent. Toxic waste is leaking into the Florida waterways and the Gulf of Mexico.

Washington, D.C.
Jason Brill, one of the youngest congressional chiefs of staff, prepares for the upcoming International Energy Summit. Working for influential senator John Quincy Allen, Jason is eager to prove himself. Despite his zeal and admiration for his boss, Jason begins to realize Senator Allen’s support of EchoEnergy, as well as his personal friendship with the firm’s CEO, may be more of a liability than an asset.

Sabrina and Jason have never met, but both are unwittingly drawn into a sinister plot that puts corporate greed and corruption above human life. As the energy summit draws near, Sabrina’s determination to expose EchoEnergy’s lethal secret has made her the target of silent, faceless enemies.

And the net is tightening, held in the relentless grip of powerful shadow players whose identities reach Pennsylvania Avenue itself.

Publishers Weekly

Bestseller Kava takes a break from her Maggie O'Dell FBI profiler series (A Necessary Evil, etc.) with a fine topical thriller involving terrorism, government coverups and toxic waste. Sabrina Galloway, a young Chicago professor, becomes a hands-on scientist in Florida with EcoEnergy, a company that specializes in TCP a process that converts refuse and other waste material into oil. EcoEnergy's CEO is angling for a $140 million military government contract, but after Sabrina's boss mysteriously disappears and Sabrina discovers a reactor processing something it shouldn't, her life becomes as endangered as Florida's waterways. She hits the road in a '47 Studebaker with Miss Sadie, a gutsy 81-year-old African-American neighbor, to find help, while Middle Eastern terrorists plot a nasty surprise for an upcoming energy summit. Engaging supporting characters include Leon, a funky hit man losing his touch but not his heart, and covert operative Natalie Richards, "a black Emma Peel." Kava lightens the seriousness with some deft touches of humor. Genre fans weary of serial-killer fare will find this a refreshing read. (June)