Red Zone: A Novel Based on a True Story

Product Description The plan is to fly a small plane to Colombia, collect the delivery fee, and return to Miami on an airliner. But ace pilot Alan Richards begrudgingly agrees to deliver passengers as wella last minute concession that will turn his nearperfect life into a mortal nightmare. A crash landing in a burning plane, torture at the hands of someone who has mistaken him for someone else, and a forced tour of some of South Americas most horrifying prisons are only the beginning of the long journey that will ultimately deliver him (and his copilot prettyboy Mario Rodriguez) into the hands of drug smugglers hiding out in the region of Colombia known as the Red Zone. RED ZONE, a novel based on events that actually happened to the author, pits two wellintended but humanly fallible characters against some very bad men in an adventure that brims with danger, excitement, humor, insight and veracity. From Publishers Weekly McTeer recounts the adventures and misadventures of adrenalinejunkie pilot Alan Richards and his copilot Mario Rodriguez after a crashlanding in the Venezuelan jungle plunges them into a world of misery and pain in this interesting but uneven debut. The cover declares the book a novel based on a true story, which is exactly how it reads like a latenight tale recounted over beers in some smoky, Third World bar. After flames onboard force their plane down in the Red Zone designated a nofly area because of rampant drug smuggling Alan and Mario are picked up by the Venezuelan police, and trouble begins in earnest. Theyre shuttled from prison to prison, beaten, tortured, cheated by crooked lawyers and brushed off by unhelpful embassies. When the duo eventually make it out of prison, its only to fall into the hands of Jota, a smuggler bent on forcing Alan to fly drug runs for the Colombian cartel. On the ground, the story decelerates among the heroes minutely catalogued trials, and McTeers prose doesnt really take off until he climbs into the cockpit and hauls the reader into the air, where the riveting action comes nonstop. When Alan makes it home, he still has to free himself from the clutches of the drug smugglers and wiggle his way back into the arms of his girlfriend, who has pretty much given up on him. McTeer leaves a few loose ends dangling, so perhaps Alan Richards will fly again. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review A riveting, whiteknuckle read,... writing so vivid youll believe you are sitting in the planes cockpit with these unforgettable characters. Tess Gerritsen, author of The Sinner Tess Gerritsen, author of The SinnerA spinetingling novel from beginning to end. Steve Zettler, author of The Second Man and Double IdentityA stunning debut: taut, dark, and unputdownable. Molly Brown, author of Invitation To A FuneralA thrilling tale of a talented pilot addicted to adventure? Jimmy Fox, author of Deadly Pedigree and Lineages and LiesMcTeer inherits the keys of the high adventure novel from the likes of Wilbur Smith, Desmond Bagley, and Hammond Innes. Paul Bishop, author of Chalk Whispers About the Author Alan McTeer first learned to fly as an air cadet in British Columbia at the age of 12. He has been flying ever since. He has lived in the U.S., Canada and Bolivia and Colombia. Currently, he lives in British Columbia and is the president of MCTR Productions, an independent digital production studio producing digital video footage for global film, TV and commercial markets. His company specializes in aerial photography. RED ZONE is his first novel.