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Colt Stanton is too young to remember his father's mysterious death at Bone Bay Lake in Northern Canada. Years later, he learns that soon after the death of his father, Colt's uncle transports a handful of small fry—an unusual type of pike called the qaakil—from that bewitched lake into Stanton Lake, the family's private lake in New York. After the discovery of animal bones and human skulls as well as other unexplained deaths, Colt teams up with zoologist Molly Wheatly to confirm and then attempt to convince the townspeople that the connecting waterways to the family's lake are unsafe for boating and swimming. When environmental plans are made to collect the qaakil and transfer them to the nearest aquarium, Colt and Molly have no idea that they are about to walk into the radical trappings of a madman.
Bill Nielsen's debut novel is an environmental thriller laced with romance. Indeed the title, Passion and Pandemonium, is a clear indication that love is in the picture. But Nielsen dedicates the first quarter of his third-person narrative firmly setting up his plot before introducing Molly into Colt's life. While Nielsen makes sure to include steamy moments, the two lovers are surrounded by various trials, as they desperately try to raise awareness of the dangers lurking in both Indian River and Blackwood Lake. To build tension, Nielsen includes a host of foiled characters for the purpose of developing his principal protagonists. And to keeps his plot moving, Nielsen constantly shifts plot and character scenes (including flashbacks to their past) within each chapter and throws in random twists and turns along the way—all without incorporating large amounts of strong language and graphic violence. For readers who enjoy a good thriller without heavily salacious and excessive gore scenes, this is your next, best read.
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