The Hill People - a chillingly believable tale    

Keith M. Donaldson's second Laura Wolfe novel, The Hill People, is a real page-turner. I didn't want to put the book down! The plot gathers momentum from the opening paragraphs of Donaldson's disturbingly believable tale of greed, deceit, political corruption, intimidation, murder, and international paramilitary operations.  

His protagonist, newspaper reporter Laura Wolfe, must learn to juggle her responsibilities as a new mother with her increasing notoriety as a journalist who finds herself in unfamiliar territory when approached to investigate some questionable government actions involving a miracle drug purported to cure cancer.  

Inside magnificent descriptions of Washington's most revered monuments and mysterious sanctums of power, Donaldson's colorful characters exhibit familiar personality traits, express realistic dialogue, and reveal universal human foibles as they attempt cunning behind-the-scenes manipulations in their respective quests to uncover the truth

The underlying premise of the novel can be found in a confidential remark by the ruthless 'but fictional, remember?' head of the pharmaceutical industry lobby, 'We don't manufacture cures, we only manufacture dependencies.' As chilling as that feels, The Hill People sizzles with veracity.

-- April Dunn