Swiftly, the author shifts and the reader joins Stacy Richardson who is enduring her qualifying orals in her quest for a PhD in Biochemistry. The panel is comprised of a dear friend plus an enemy of her husband Max, who left the university to take a high level position with the US government in its biochemical weapon research lab at Fort Derrick.

Stacy’s sister-in law interrupts the exam and reports that her husband Max has committed suicide. Stacy had talked with him the night before and not only had he not been suicidal but he had hinted that there were people who did not want him there.

Finding that the Army has unceremoniously cremated her husband, (against his known wishes) Stacy goes from the position of merely wanting the government to acknowledge that he was murdered to trying to prove that they are involved in a massive cover-up. By stealth and trickery she obtains a copy of the autopsy and learns conclusively that he was murdered.

Stacy’s search first takes her to a prison in Texas where the inmates are being used in an illegal experimentation program of biochemical weapons. These experiments rage out of control. The sad and ironic message is that Admiral Zoll who seems to be in charge truly sees nothing wrong with concept that America must discover and perfect biological weapons, and pay any price necessary to do so.

Another true believer emerges in the persona of Reverend Fannon Kincaid, who is a believer of racial cleansing. His parish is comprised of hoboes, but his weapon is a little more sophisticated. He has acquired by theft enough of this new biochemical to make a serious dent in the population of the east coast. Chris meets Stacy and they combine forces to stop the immediate threat that Kincaid poses.

Doomsday fiction lovers will revel in the mounting tension and the twists this author introduces. For the most part his characters are larger that life but are well drawn. The dialogue is sharp and filled all too often with the platitudes we have heard to justify behavior. He uses these cleverly to illustrate his points.

The scenes are realistically drawn and the action showcases Cannell’s talent for spinning a credible story from incredible components…religious fanatics, unstable scientists, hoboes, white supremists, a grieving widow and a societal dropout.

The Devil’s Workshop is recommended for suspense lovers, and even if you are not a doomsday thriller lover, it is so topical that it merits attention.

--Thea Davis