James Tarr

Splashback James Tarr

Splashback, the long-awaited sequel to Failure Drill, Tarr's first novel, takes place in the heady days just following 9/11. Working as a private investigator in Detroit, former DEA Special Agent John Phault has a safe and comfortable life after the deadly events of Failure Drill, with a new house, a new dog, and a very pregnant wife. Then he gets a call from a friend--they've found bloodstains, bulletholes, and spent shell casings in their house, and the friend's father is missing. The father who may or may not have worked for a three-letter U. S. intelligence agency...this happening right as the U. S. military is getting ready to head into Iraq. The FBI takes charge of the case as a possible kidnapping, but Phault agrees to nose around as a favor. What follows is a grueling marathon of treason, torture, espionage, and murder stretching from the Motor City all the way to the White House.