Comment from LJbutterfly

Excellent

I love the captivating detail of this chapter, including the food and beverages, and activities of Fran and Brian during the 35 turned 40 hour flight. Then, there was the unexpected Chinese boat and a few people almost concealed by dense foliage. These details and surprises add depth to the basic plot lines, and stimulates the reader's imaginations. Great chapter.

 Comment Written 11-Feb-2025

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reply by the author on 11-Feb-2025

Thanks very much, Lorraine, for this detailed review. I really appreciate your pointing out the things you mentioned. I don't typically do a lot of scene setting in my novels, and it's an area in which I'm trying to improve. I agree that it gives a more immersive experience to the reader that way.

Comment from eliz100

Excellent

This is another excellent chapter. Since I missed the beginning, this was quite informative. I look forward to the next chapter. I do not see any need for improvement. Have a blessed day.

 Comment Written 10-Feb-2025

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reply by the author on 10-Feb-2025

Thanks so much, Lee. Since you missed the beginning of the story and all of the previous novel this one is a sequel to, I'll give you a brief recap up to this point.

In my previous novel, Duel with the Devil when Brian was 16, he was in an auto accident that hurt his back, and he was put on OxyContin, a strong opioid, by his doctor for the chronic pain. He became addicted and OD'd on it. He met Julia in rehab. She was a superb violinist who eventually becomes a world class touring violinist, but her mother (Marie) was a loveless, domineering taskmaster who drove Julia to take drugs to relax.

They marry after college. He studies to be a neuroscientist with the goal of inventing a non-addictive (non-opioid) painkiller, and he was successful with his first attempt, Dipraxa.

Only, he discovered when he accidentally took a double dose that it became highly addictive at a high dose and created such euphoria, that he didn't want to do anything else except get high for two months while Julia was away on tour. When she returned, he was a mess, but she helped him recover, and in the process, he discovered how to fix Dipraxa, and Glyptophan was the result. It solved the problem of euphoria and was no longer addictive.

Brian sold the license to manufacture the drug to his former company, Detry Pharmaceutical, where he had worked for several years before setting out on his own. He was paid an 8-figure sum for the rights to manufacture the drug.

Julia decided she wanted to quit touring for a while and start a family. She also joined a bluegrass band as its fiddle and banjo player. The story ended as she is pregnant and she and Brian are trying to enlist volunteer subjects for the phase-1 human trials of Glyptophan.

In the epilogue to that story, his sister Fran, who is an FBI agent, comes up with an idea to extract information from a captive they have. She proposes using Brian's original drug, Dipraxa, to hook the guy, then withhold it from him, and he would want it so badly that he would talk. It was not considered torture because it didn't cause pain, and the psychological addiction wore off pretty fast.

This book begins where that one left off, only Dipraxa has gotten out and is now being found on the streets. The formula had been stolen by one of the agents on Fran's original task force and sold to the Chinese who manufacture it now and smuggle it in through Mexico.

Brian conceives of a way to deactivate the drug even though it's now being made by the Chinese. One of the ingredients is an enzyme of the Balanga plant whose sole source is Gunagua Island in the Philippines. The plan is to devise a spray that will change the genetic structure of the enzyme so that when it is added to Dipraxa, it will change the way the drug is metabolized in the brain and, in addition to making it no longer cause euphoria, it will now make the user extremely nauseous.

The hope is that the Chinese will have no idea why their drug is no longer working and is making people sick. It's important to stop this drug because it threatens the economy of the nation because it is so addictive, no one will want to work any longer.

In another plot to this story, Big Pharma is attempting to stop Glyptophan from coming to market by an intimidation campaign against Brian. Dana Padgett (remember her from Saving Mr. Calvin?) has turned a new leaf and is working with Fran as a confidential informant to try to stop her company from harassing Brian, but the baton has now been passed to another company to pick up where they left off.

In a third major plot, Julia's mother, Marie, is in the process of reforming herself, prompted mainly by the arrival of a grandson, whom she adores, and her renewed relationship with Julia. She is an alcoholic, even though she is a violinist in the NY Philharmonic and unliked by most, except for the doorman at her apartment who she has agreed to teach the violin to for free. They have a little joke together in which he calls her Ms. Schmidt (instead of Dr. Schmidt), and she calls him Cecil (instead of his real name, Cedric). If you want to see how that came about, just read chapter 3 of this book.

The three heroines of the story--Fran, Dana, and Marie--will come together at the end in an exciting climax.

reply by eliz100 on 10-Feb-2025

Thank you so much for catching me up. I really appreciate it.

reply by the author on 10-Feb-2025

You're very welcome, Lee.

Comment from Neonewman

Exceptional

Well, the freaking Chinese are trying to get ahead of the game. I wonder what they're really doing there. Harvesting whole plants as stated. I love that Fran is tenacious, this makes her a great agent as well as a soon to be Spy.

Great work, Jim. You must do as much research as you do writing, lol.
God bless,
Steve

 Comment Written 09-Feb-2025

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reply by the author on 09-Feb-2025

Thanks so much, Steve, and for those 6 stars too. I do thoroughly enjoy the research aspect of the stories I write, especially since I began using AI to help with it. You can ask very specific questions and get the answers without having to pore through lots of articles using Google. The best thing is that you can ask followup questions, and it remembers the context of the chat so that you don't have to frame it all again. In a very short time, you can narrow down to exactly the information you need.

Another thing it's handy for is to check out the feasibility of your ideas. I have run several thoughts I had about Brian's drugs by the bots I use to see if my ideas might work at least theoretically, and gotten results back that some of them are indeed being considered by scientists.

I was particularly gratified recently to learn that my idea of using sodium channel blocking as the mode of action for Brian's non-addictive painkillers is the method of action of a new non-addictive painkiller called Journavx that has just been approved by the FDA and is now available. It's only available for acute pain rather than chronic pain at this point, but I thought it was pretty neat how I came up with that on my own over a year ago when I got the idea for these two novels.

reply by Neonewman on 11-Feb-2025

That's incredible, Jim. What a great feeling this must have conjured. You are a smart man, my friend. AI, is in Grammarly, but I'm not clear on how it works.

Comment from Iza Deleanu

Excellent

So Fran is till fighting the battle of spying and catching the bad guys in action. I am very curious to find out what it's next. Thank you for sharing and good luck with the next chapter.

 Comment Written 09-Feb-2025

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reply by the author on 09-Feb-2025

So glad this is keeping you interested Iza. Fran may end up regretting the decision to go onto the island. Let's see what awaits her and Brian there.

Comment from Ric Myworld

Exceptional

Go ahead Ive appears to be getting closer all the time. Now Im just hoping I'll be home in time to keep up without rushing.
Thanks for sharing........................................................

 Comment Written 08-Feb-2025

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reply by the author on 09-Feb-2025

Thanks very much for those 6 stars, Ric. Are you still in Las Vegas?

reply by Ric Myworld on 09-Feb-2025

Yes, Jim, I'm still here in Vegas, but I'm coming home tomorrow. Six weeks is all I can stand. LOL. To me, everything you write deserves a six. I just wish they gave us enough to go around. :-)

reply by the author on 09-Feb-2025

That's awfully nice, Ric. It's enough just to hear you say it.

Comment from Pearl Edwards

Excellent

That sounds scary with Brian having to pack his gun plus the 40 hour flight on a Hercules. Didn't think it was going to go smoothly. A good chapter Jim with drama still to come. Enjoyed it, cheers
Valda

 Comment Written 08-Feb-2025

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reply by the author on 09-Feb-2025

Thanks very much, Valda. Nothing is ever simple is it? Let's hope packing the gun was just a precaution, but I think you've figured out it may become important.

Comment from Debbie D'Arcy

Excellent

Dear Jim, you never cease to amaze me the level of work and research in this story! You must be dreaming about it by now. I didn't realise how high level it was to become with the President now involved. But, actually, I'm relieved about this because of the complexity and risk of the operation, especially in Chinese relations. And, just as everything is taking shape, there's this very concerning problem which might turn out to be quite a benign one or it could signal that the Chinese have been alerted.
As ever, the read seems flawless. I would only question (the) Charlotte airport because we wouldn't use the definite article in British English. But I love how the suspense is building up and you manage to include so much information with excellent clarity, whilst maintaining a very readable pace. A virtual six from me. Well done, Jim. Debbie

 Comment Written 08-Feb-2025

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reply by the author on 09-Feb-2025

Thanks for another wonderful review, Debbie. The White House recognized the threat to the economy and gave the FBI the full backing for this mission which greatly served to expedite matters.

The only reason why I said "the Charlotte airport" is because the official name is Charlotte Douglas International Airport, which is a mouthful, and I wanted to emphasize that the airport was right there in Charlotte. Had I used the full name, I would have left off the "the."

I appreciate your remarks on the clarity and pace with all the information the research provided. It's always a judgment call how much to include to make the story both authentic-sounding and informative, but it's easy to overdo it, and I have to constantly scale it back. I'm happy that you think I've found the right balance.

Comment from royowen

Excellent

You are are writing a long story here, with agri espionage going on as well as all the other complicated things going on. It proves to me how much you know about the wickedness of man without God as the fly in the ointment, well done Jim, blessings Roy

 Comment Written 08-Feb-2025

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reply by the author on 08-Feb-2025

We're 62% of the way through the story at this point and will now be getting into the exciting parts as the action ramps up. I hope I've been able to lay the groundwork for what will be coming. I haven't forgotten about Marie either, who will play a significant part a little later on.

Comment from lancellot

Excellent

Well, this is an interesting chapter, from Fran's Point of View. The readers can clearly see how not only FBI assistance but also having White House and DoD help and resources will Brian and his team unstoppable.

 Comment Written 08-Feb-2025

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reply by the author on 08-Feb-2025

That's an extremely good point, Lance. I'm glad you picked that up. The White House could see the importance of this mission and was willing to support it with multi-agency support to ensure its success.

Comment from barbara.wilkey

Excellent

There's a problem. I am hoping Fran and Brian are able to solve this problem. It does look like there's a possibility of trouble. I can't wait to read the next post.

 Comment Written 08-Feb-2025

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reply by the author on 08-Feb-2025

Thanks, Barbara. Buckle up for the next two chapters.