A deadly secret. A dangerous game. How far will she go to expose the truth?
Anna Freeman never expected a routine errand to change everything. But when the ambitious law student and environmental activist retrieves a harmless videotape on energy policy, she unknowingly steps into the heart of a ruthless conspiracy. Powerful lobbyists, corrupt politicians, and billion-dollar interests will do whatever it takes to keep their secrets buried-and now, Anna is in their crosshairs.
Before she realizes it, she's pulled deep into the very system she once despised, embraced and seduced by those orchestrating the cover-up. They think she's one of them. But Anna has other plans. Working undercover for The New York Times, she's determined to expose the truth-no matter the cost. The only problem-she falls in love with the industry's most trusted lobbyist.
With every step she takes, the danger intensifies. Lies mount. The deeper she infiltrates, the harder it becomes to save herself and her friends from the ultimate outcome. When the threats turn personal, Anna faces an impossible choice: Will she risk everything-her career, her relationships, her friendships, even her life-to bring the truth to light? Or will she be silenced before she has the chance?
Temperature Rising is an electrifying political thriller packed with pulse-pounding suspense, forbidden romance, and high-stakes deception. As Anna races against time, one thing becomes clear-some secrets are worth killing for.
About the Author :
Joel Burcat is an award-winning author of four environmental legal thrillers: Drink to Every Beast (about illegal dumping of toxic waste), Amid Rage (about a coal mine permit battle), Strange Fire (about a fracking dispute), and his latest, Reap the Wind (an action/adventure thriller). He has received a number of awards, including the Gold Medal for environmental fiction from Readers' Favorite for Strange Fire, and as a Finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards for Amid Rage. He has written numerous short stories.Burcat's books are infused with realism developed over a forty plus year career as an environmental lawyer. Burcat worked in government as an Assistant Attorney General and in a private law practice. He was selected as the 2019 Lawyer of the Year in Environmental Litigation (for Central Pa.) by Best Lawyers in America. Among his numerous professional writings, he has edited two significant non-fiction books on environmental and energy law. He has retired from the practice of law and works full-time as a novelist. He is an active member of the International Thriller Writers and PennWriters.Burcat lives in Harrisburg, Pa. with his wife, Gail.
Review :
"A timely and poignant thriller of political machinations, threats and lies. I enjoyed Temperature Rising, it heats up quickly and burns hot."
-Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite series
A law student stumbles on a conspiracy to hide climate change in Burcat's thriller.
In 1988, 21-year-old Rutgers University law student Anna Freeman goes to the Institute for Energy Independence in Washington, D.C., to pick up an informational video, which she plans to show to the school's Ecology and Law Society. While in D.C., she inadvertently stumbles upon a gathering of powerful energy lobbyists coordinating an effort to undermine scientific findings on climate change. When a handsome young IEI executive from Texas named Coy Young who's at the meeting takes an interest in her, Anna improvises, claiming to be with a lobbying firm. Later, back in New Jersey, her Rutgers professor connects her with the Jersey Devils, a fringe environmentalist group who host clandestine meetings with reporters in dive bars. They urge Anna to go undercover to find out more about the propaganda plan-but they also warn her that the IEI's intimidating and "deadly dangerous" head of security, Rolf Heftig, was involved in the recent disappearance of a climate scientist. Anna grows closer to Coy and impresses IEI leaders such as the formidable lobbyist Jane Chevalier, who appreciates Anna's gumption among "a lot of gray, balding male heads." Soon, Anna's caught between her moral responsibilities, her feelings for Coy, and the seductive pull of influence and power. A violent prologue promises a thriller that's closer in spirit to Tom Clancy's work, but the novel eventually aligns with the institutional suspense novels of writers such as John Grisham. Burcat leans into the familiar beats of double-agent stories-as when Anna smuggles out information by writing it in Hebrew, leading to a wonderful payoff-but the author's sharp execution offers plenty of surprises. He renders the protagonist's uneasy position in a male-dominated, power-hungry world with care. Coy and Jane are much more complex than the average egocentric villains, which only serves to deepen Anna's predicament. By the end, the overt action-driven sequences will feel unnecessary, since Burcat's timely boardroom intrigue already offers plenty of thrills.
An intriguing conspiracy tale that finds fresh energy in familiar power struggles.--KIRKUS
