From Publishers Weekly
The Emmy Award-winning TV writer/producer of The Rockford Files and The Commish strikes again (after Riding the Snake) with this quirky new action-driven nail-biter, which imagines the havoc unleashed by doomsday bioweapons. Doctoral candidate Stacy Richardson is called out of her oral finals to be told that her husband, the brilliant microbiology department chairman at USC, has killed himself while on sabbatical at a hush-hush Pentagon-funded bioweapons research center just outside Washington. Devastated, she flies east to accuse the military hierarchy of murdering her husband in an attempt to cover up a covert research project involving deadly Pale Horse Prion, a bioweapon that can be genetically engineered to kill specific ethnic groups. Back home in L.A., her husband's final e-mail reveals that the military is planning a test at a deserted prison town in Texas. Traveling incognito, Stacy arrives just in time to witness the catastrophic destruction of the quiet town as the military desperately tries to eliminate the mosquitoes carrying the deadly Prion. In the wake of the disaster, Fannon Kincaid, a zealot hobo preacher intent on fulfilling the Armageddon prophesy of Revelations, kidnaps renegade scientist Dexter DeMille, who has the Prion. In her effort to save the world, Stacy hooks up with Cris Cunningham, a former Desert Storm hero, and Buddy Brazil, the movie mogul dad of one of Prion's victims. Unfolding as a cross-country train chase in and out of hobo jungles, the shoot-'em-up finale comes thundering down in the railroad yards in Washington. Unfortunately, the schmaltzy fade to black is excessive and lacking in taste. Typically, Cannell is strong on action and plot, and weak on feelings, sensitivity and depth of character. Agents, Eric Simonoff and Mort Janklow. Major ad/promo, 12-city author tour. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
"The devil's workshop" is the bioweapons program in Fort Dietrick, MD, where Stacy Richardson's microbiologist husband has just committed suicide. Poor Stacy is about to find out, with the help of two hapless tramps in the vicinity, that the program's director has been using inmates at a nearby prison to test new bioweapons capable of targeting certain ethnic groupsAwith horrifying results. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
A deadly cocktail of prions and DNA could kill all the African-Americans and Jews in the U.S. Chris "Lucky" Cunningham and Stacy Richardson are out to stop the madmen. From Washington, D.C., to Texas to L.A., they chase after white supremacists, as well as members of the U.S. military and scientists trying to forestall a tragedy. Cannell is so wrapped up in his plot that he loses touch with its tension. The narrative is delivered smoothly, but the dialogue is often stilted or read word by word. Furthermore, when the narration becomes full of technical jargon, Cannell reads as though sounding out all the words. Although the mix of themes and characters is too much, Cannell manages to captivate with the action. M.B.K. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Stacy, an incredibly beautiful scientist who is finishing up her doctorate in biochemistry, has her world turned upside down when she learns that her new husband has committed suicide. Not believing that he killed himself, she travels to the installation where he was working on a secret biological weapons program; she discovers that the government's story of what happened is a lie. In the process of her investigation, she makes an enemy of the head of the project, Admiral Zoll, who pulls some strings at the university where she is studying and prevents her graduation. Stacy swears to get to the bottom of her husband's death and reveal the dangerous experimentation that has been going on at the lab, which is known as the Devil's Workshop. Meanwhile Zoll and his chief scientist are conducting human experiments with their latest weapon: a fast-acting variation of mad cow disease that is targeted at specific ethnic groups. The scientist is abducted by a group of white supremacists who plan on ridding the world of all non-Caucasians. Stacy forms an alliance with Lucky Cunningham, a hobo who has witnessed a town being "cleansed" after an accidental exposure to the weapon, and Buddy Brazil, a coke-snorting Hollywood mogul whose son was exposed to the disease; together, they attempt to prevent a holocaust by the white supremacists. Cannell, who seems to write books with the intent of converting them into screenplays, is considerably more successful at developing a dramatic story line. The narrative flow here is less stilted than such earlier attempts as King Con (1997). Although the comic book^-like plot has its share of flaws, those flaws will be overlooked by the majority of readers, who will enjoy the fast-paced adventure. Eric Robbins


From Kirkus Reviews
A ho-hummer about hush-hush bio-weaponry in conspiratorial hands. Beautiful budding microbiologist Stacy Richardson, sitting for the orals that will lock up her Ph.D., gets a horrifying phone call. Her adored husband, she's told, has taken his own life. Suicide? Not for a nanosecond can Stacy believe such a thing. Max--steadfast, positive in outlook, brilliant (head of the University of Southern California's microbiology department)--had too much to live for, including luscious Stacy. She zips over to Fort Detrick (Maryland) from USC, on fire to get to the bottom of what she, and every experienced reader, is certain will prove a conspiracy. Max had been at Detrick, on detached service, working on a species of "killer proteins" called Prions. He'd been helping Dr. Dexter DeMille, number-one microbiologist in the field. But to do exactly what? It's a program overseen by fanatical (diabolical also applies) Admiral James G. Zoll, who hints at basic instability and maybe a touch of substance abuse as the causes of Max's suicide. He's hiding something, Stacy intuits, while taking umbrage. Supported by unlikely allies (a burnt-out case of an ex-marine, a lost soul of a Hollywood producer), she launches a relentless investigation. Undercover bio-weaponry is what they're up to at Fort Detrick, she discovers, a secret attempt to redesign Prions as a special kind of bacteriological agent: smart germs that can tell foe from friend and act accordingly. But the program is thoroughly illegal. Not that this is a matter of much concern to Admiral Zoll, whose patriotism has long since crowded into zealotry and who wants America's germs to be unsurpassed. So there's Stacy, willing to die to clear Max's name, and Admiral Zoll, ready to murder to protect his program. Blood in buckets before resolution. Television veteran Cannell's fifth subpar thriller (Riding the Snake, 1998, etc.). He did much better work when he was writing The Rockford Files. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.



"Fast-paced adventure."


Book Description
In the bowels of a super-secret bio-weapons lab in Maryland, doom in its most insidious form is being refined.They told USC grad student Stacy Richardson that the death of her noted microbiologist husband was suicide, but nothing will convince her of that. Now only her own death will keep her from the truth...They told "Lucky" Cunningham he was doing his patriotic duty, but not about the terrible plague he was bringing home with him from the war. Now, with nothing more in his life to lose, he's riding the rails across America--straight into the heart of a nightmare too horrifying to contemplate...White supremacist Reverand Fannon Kincaid told his hobo acolytes that one day their racial "enemies" would perish. Now he holds in his possession the unthinkable means to an unspeakable end...Civilization's final drama is about to unfold--as busy hands construct doomsday at...The Devil's Workshop

FROM OUR EDITORS

Stephen J. Cannell, who is known primarily as the creator-writer of a ton of television dramas, including The A-Team, Hunter, and The Rockford Files, is now making quite a name for himself in thriller fiction. Below, in a Barnes & Noble.com exclusive, Cannell speculates about the disturbing possibility that our country is currently involved in bioweapons research, a notion that powers his latest, high-octane spellbinder. Enjoy!

A Note from Stephen J. Cannell

Dear Reader:

I'm really excited about my latest book, The Devil's Workshop. My inspiration for the book was some fascinating research I ran across one day while working on my computer. I pulled up some websites about bioweaponry. The more I read, the more fascinating it seemed to me -- not so much just the whole idea of bioweapons, but the idea that our government might still be involved in actively pursuing new generations of bioweapons when, in fact, we, along with around 100 other nations, signed the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention, which prohibits the proliferation of bioweapons. But the research clearly shows that many countries are disregarding this treaty and are actively developing bioweapons. It then occurred to me that it is highly unlikely that our own CIA wouldn't also be aware of these facts and for defense reasons be operating a unit to do the same. As I began expanding my research, I began to find out some shocking facts, such as the story run by "60 Minutes" about the bacterial tests with dangerous contaminants run by a government unit in the New York City subways. There were also some other strange things going on. For instance, more than one million mosquitoes a month were being bred in Fort Detrick, Maryland; needless to say, there were numerous complaints from nearby residents. When you put that fact together with the fact that mosquitoes are an excellent vector (or targeting mechanism) for bioweapons, and with recent congressional testimony about the rooms full of illegal anthrax and sarin that were found at Fort Detrick, it's easy to conclude that illegal testing is happening in the United States.

In the Fort Detrick case, the scientists argued that they had to have samples of antitoxins in case a terrorist attack does occur, and so in order to develop antitoxins they had to have strains of anthrax and sarin on hand. But you don't need two or three rooms full of that stuff, which is enough to kill the whole planet! All of this fueled my imagination to think, "What if this unit still exists and what if all of the evidence that I'm seeing here is evidence of a secret off-the-books unit that's developing bioweapons?" I decided that I would name it the Devil's Workshop, and it became the focal point of the story. But every story needs more than a great plot -- it needs interesting characters.

The main character in the novel is Stacy Richardson. I always want my female characters to be as important and as strong as my male characters. When creating a character, I always start by asking, "What's important to this person?" I gave Stacy a relationship that's very important to her, which she believes is nurturing and has allowed her to achieve her dream of becoming a microbiologist. Then, at the beginning of the novel, that relationship is snatched from her in a shocking way that doesn't make any sense to her. She believes she's being lied to about her husband's so-called suicide. So she starts on a quest; it's her quest that starts to unravel the conspiracy to hide this off-the-books program. Stacy is a very strong character: She stands up to some really powerful people, like Admiral Zoll, one of the main heavies in the book. I especially enjoyed writing the scenes where she takes on the macho military guys, with only her brains and courage to back her up -- those guys really underestimate her. She also has to find out for her own peace of mind what her husband was actually doing when he was stationed at the Devil's Workshop. The answers may not be what she's expecting.

I really enjoyed the process of writing The Devil's Workshop. I hope you'll enjoy reading it!

Best Regards,

Stephen J. Cannell

A Review from barnesandnoble.com

Even if you don't recognize Stephen J. Cannell's name, you probably know his work — his list of credits includes television shows as diverse as "The Rockford Files," "Hunter," "The A-Team," "Silk Stalkings," and "The Commish." The multitalented Cannell is also a successful novelist, having penned four bestsellers in the last four years. Seemingly loath to repeat himself, Cannell tackled a different subject each time — The Plan examined presidential politics, Final Victim focused on the exploits of a brilliant serial killer, King Con featured a family of con artists, and Riding the Snake explored the workings of Chinese organized crime.

Cannell's latest,The Devil's Workshop, tells the story of newlywed Stacy Richardson, who, as the novel opens, is about to take her qualifying oral exam for her doctorate in microbiology. Stacy's world is turned upside down when she receives the news that her husband, Max, a research scientist at the Army Medical Facility at Fort Detrick, Maryland, has committed suicide. Refusing to accept the Army's story, Stacy infiltrates the installation and discovers that the Army is lying about Max's death. Prevented from investigating further by the head of the project, the zealous Admiral Zoll, Stacy vows to uncover the truth about her husband's death and about the top-secret biological weapons she suspects the Army is developing at Fort Detrick.

Based on discussions she had with Max prior to his death, Stacy theorizes that the Army is working with prions, proteins that, when ingested or injected, eventually attack the brain, causing symptoms similar to those of mad cow disease. Her fears prove to be more mundane than the reality: Admiral Zoll and his chief scientist, a lunatic named Dexter DeMille, have designed a prion-based weapon that targets specific ethnic groups.

Things go from bad to worse when the East Texas town of Vanishing Lake is accidentally exposed to the weapon. During the ensuing confusion, DeMille is kidnapped by white supremacists who plan to use the weapon to eliminate so-called "inferior" races. Stacy forms an unlikely alliance with a hobo named Lucky Cunningham, an ex-Marine who witnessed the "cleansing" of Vanishing Lake by an embarrassed military, and Buddy Brazil, a cocaine-snorting Hollywood mogul whose profligate son accidentally falls victim to the prions. Together, they struggle to expose the military and to prevent the white supremacists from carrying out their plans for genocide.

Cannell's scriptwriting roots are evident on every page — put the narrative in the present tense and the dialogue in screenplay format, and The Devil's Workshop would read like the script of Will Smith's next star vehicle. Even so, that's not necessarily a bad thing, because, at his core, Cannell is a consummate storyteller. Although he does make some mistakes (his penchant for creating characters with alliterative names like Sylvester Swift, Sid Saunders, Randall Raider, and Buck Burger is especially annoying), the book is still a great read — its serpentine plot, over-the-top action scenes, colorful characters, and snappy dialogue make The Devil's Workshop a guilty pleasure, a reading experience akin to watching a well-executed action flick. If you want great literature, pick up a copy of Anna Karenina. If you're looking for stellar entertainment, you'll find a plentiful supply in The Devil's Workshop.

—Hank Wagner

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Stacy Richardson is a feisty microbiology graduate student at the University of Southern California. In the middle of her final exams, she receives tragic news that her husband, who is also head of the microbiology department, has committed suicide while on sabbatical at a super-secret bio-weapons program in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Known by insiders as "The Devil's Workshop," the program is run by the fierce Admiral James G. Zoll. Meanwhile, hobos Lucky Cunningham and Hollywood Mike are passing through Vanishing Lake, Texas, where, unbeknownst to them, Admiral Zoll is using the nearby prison as a testing ground for the latest bio-weapons capable of targeting specific ethnic groups from the inside--through the victim's DNA. As a bio-accident turns Vanishing Lake into a living hell and threatens to land the bio-weapons into the hands of a band of white supremacists, The Devil's Workshop unfolds via a uniquely entertaining narrative triumvirate: Stacy, Lucky, and Hollywood Mike's tinseltown mogul father, Buddy Brazil. Combining classic elements of science gone awry with a cast of characters that firmly fuses America's dust bowl past with its sensational present, The Devil's Workshop is a thrilling race against a racially charged doomsday.

FROM THE CRITICS

Larry King - USA Today

A terrific plot and a great read.

Washington Post Book World

Cannell is a great entertainer...The man can write.

Publishers Weekly

The Emmy Award-winning TV writer/producer of The Rockford Files and The Commish strikes again (after Riding the Snake) with this quirky new action-driven nail-biter, which imagines the havoc unleashed by doomsday bioweapons. Doctoral candidate Stacy Richardson is called out of her oral finals to be told that her husband, the brilliant microbiology department chairman at USC, has killed himself while on sabbatical at a hush-hush Pentagon-funded bioweapons research center just outside Washington. Devastated, she flies east to accuse the military hierarchy of murdering her husband in an attempt to cover up a covert research project involving deadly Pale Horse Prion, a bioweapon that can be genetically engineered to kill specific ethnic groups. Back home in L.A., her husband's final e-mail reveals that the military is planning a test at a deserted prison town in Texas. Traveling incognito, Stacy arrives just in time to witness the catastrophic destruction of the quiet town as the military desperately tries to eliminate the mosquitoes carrying the deadly Prion. In the wake of the disaster, Fannon Kincaid, a zealot hobo preacher intent on fulfilling the Armageddon prophesy of Revelations, kidnaps renegade scientist Dexter DeMille, who has the Prion. In her effort to save the world, Stacy hooks up with Cris Cunningham, a former Desert Storm hero, and Buddy Brazil, the movie mogul dad of one of Prion's victims. Unfolding as a cross-country train chase in and out of hobo jungles, the shoot-'em-up finale comes thundering down in the railroad yards in Washington. Unfortunately, the schmaltzy fade to black is excessive and lacking in taste. Typically, Cannell is strong on action and plot, and weak on feelings, sensitivity and depth of character. Agents, Eric Simonoff and Mort Janklow. Major ad/promo, 12-city author tour. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

"The devil's workshop" is the bioweapons program in Fort Dietrick, MD, where Stacy Richardson's microbiologist husband has just committed suicide. Poor Stacy is about to find out, with the help of two hapless tramps in the vicinity, that the program's director has been using inmates at a nearby prison to test new bioweapons capable of targeting certain ethnic groups--with horrifying results. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

AudioFile