Jeffrey (J. A.) Layton

Jeffrey Layton lives in the Pacific Northwest with his family. He is a professional engineer who specializes in coastal engineering. Jeff uses his knowledge of diving, yachting, offshore engineering and underwater warfare in the thrillers that he writes. He enjoys boating and hiking. He is currently at work on his next book.

Vortex One is Jeff's latest thriller. Jove Books of Penguin Putnam, New York, published the novel in December 2001.

Vortex One is an old-fashioned chase story updated for the digital age. It is a roller-coaster ride of intrigue, high technology and espionage.

The chase begins when a Seattle software executive, Jennifer Richmond, becomes the target of a cabal of international powers who are ruthless in their attempts to track down the secret of a revolutionary new flight system. Jenny's late father invented the top-secret discovery, code name MERLIN, for the U.S. Air Force. MERLIN represents a quantum leap in computer technology that will have worldwide ramifications.

A mole in the U.S. Intelligence Community prevents Jenny from seeking help from her own government. Instead, she enlists the help of Tim Carpenter, a former U.S. Army intelligence officer, to keep the interlopers at bay. Relentlessly pursued, Tim and Jenny must at all times keep one step ahead of the elite forces tracking them down or the MERLIN secret will be lost to America's enemies.

The MERLIN hunt starts in the Cascade Mountains near Seattle. It proceeds through the San Juan Islands to Vancouver, B.C., and then continues northward along the waterways of the Inside Passage. The story concludes in the North Pacific Ocean, offshore of Alaska.

Warhead was Jeff's second novel, published by Avon Books, New York.

Warhead chronicles the sinuous path of weapons-grade uranium after it is stolen from a Russian nuclear weapons laboratory. Smuggled out of Vladivostok by the Red Mafia, the missing Uranium-235 passes from an East Asian heroin trafficker to a pair of American wannabe drug smugglers operating out of Puerto Vallarta, and then to Mexico's reigning drug kingpin. Eventually, the deadly material ends up in the possession of Stan Reams, a disgraced expatriate hiding out in Cabo San Lucas. Reams then becomes the ultimate terrorist as he seeks his revenge against the government that destroyed his business and ruined his life.

Private investigator Tom Parker, on assignment in Puerto Vallarta on another case, accidentally crosses paths with Reams. Unaware of the missing U-235, Parker then becomes embroiled in a convoluted cascade of events orchestrated by Reams that leads to theft, kidnapping, torture and murder. Reams eventually leaves Parker "holding the bag" in PV when he escapes to the U.S.

The plot accelerates when a Russian military officer who has been continuously searching for the hijacked U-235 traces the uranium to Stan Reams. The Kremlin subsequently alerts the White House to the threat that Reams represents. The FBI, CIA and the Department of Energy's Nuclear Emergency Search Team (NEST) then begin a massive campaign to find Reams.

Tom Parker, still in the dark about the missing uranium, stumbles right into the middle of the nationwide hunt.

Blowout was Jeff's first book, also published by Avon Books.

Blowout is a story about a Seattle-based construction executive, Zackary Scott, who is in the offshore oil business. After a horrendous explosion and massive oil spill aboard Zack's flagship oil drilling vessel, Zack becomes entangled with a Japanese industrialist, Hiroshi Yoshida, over the discovery of an "Elephant" oil field in the North Pacific Ocean. The two men then become adversaries, locked in mortal combat. Their honor, personal fortunes and the lives of their individual families are all at stake.

The principal settings for Blowout are the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, Japan and the Kuril Island chain offshore of Russia's Pacific coast. The story includes extensive scenes aboard offshore drilling rigs, underwater oil exploration vehicles and a U.S. Navy fast-attack submarine.

Used copies of Vortex One, Warhead and Blowout can be purchased online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

You can email me your questions at the above link.

Thanks for your interest in my writing. I hope you enjoy reading the novels!