Mushroom in the Sand is an international action/thriller/spy novel with Iran's clandestine nuclear weapons program as a backdrop.
An Iranian-born physicist living the American dream, Dr. Ross Shaheen is at the top of his game. Between his internationally-recognized nuclear weapons research career at the prestigious Berkeley Lab and his picture-perfect family in the San Francisco suburbs, it’s a good life that can only get better—until he is lured into lecturing before an elite group of scientists in his home country.
The 7,000-mile trip takes Shaheen back to the land of the lion and sun, yet it also delivers to Iran’s very doorstep an important American citizen with Top Secret security clearance. Taken captive in a subterranean plant by Amir Meshkin, head of Iran’s secret nuclear weapons program, will Shaheen be forced to provide him with the access needed to successfully advance the Iranian nuclear agenda?
The answer lies in a twisting plot of espionage and survival, putting to the test not only Shaheen’s secret knowledge but also the very core of his allegiance. If he lives, he could walk away a hero for his country. The question is—which one?
Excerpt
Fear was all that Ross had known since the “message” had been delivered to him three days earlier. The horror it induced into his core was such that it rendered his many attempts at distraction useless.
Men are creatures of habit, and Ross was no exception. His Saturday routine began at dawn when he would drive across the Golden Gate Bridge, park on West Crissy, and set out for a five-mile run on the promenade. He usually finished the course in about forty-five minutes.
During his last jog, the morning chill felt particularly exhilarating to Ross. He loved the Bay Area, especially San Francisco. He found the scenery breathtaking. While he ran, he took in the reflection of the first light on Alcatraz as it glowed majestically against the white of the morning fog. It was poor visibility. When he approached the end of the pier, he noticed the silhouette of a burly man leaning against the rails. He seemed to be taking in the view like most people who showed up on the promenade that early. But when Ross got closer, the man turned to face him, as if he’d anticipated his arrival. Suddenly, Ross recognized him—it was Kazem, a man he had first met two weeks ago in Las Vegas. Seeing him now surprised him. What the hell is he doing here? he thought.
“What a glorious morning, my friend,” Kazem called out.
“What is this?” Ross asked. “Are you stalking me now?”
He stopped in front of Kazem and bent over, panting to catch his breath. Without any attempt at disguising his contempt, he said, “Didn’t I tell you…to leave me the hell…alone?”
“No, my good friend, I’m not a stalker,” Kazem said. “I’m simply carrying a message.”
“Okay…deliver it and…get lost.”
“Your rejection of our invitation to visit Iran has angered powerful individuals.”
A true page-turner, Jeff Ovall’s futurist work of fiction peers into the history of a world not yet realized, yet ominously closer than most could imagine. A time in which the past has been reborn and humankind, in all its glory and misery, has final
