George Beddingfield

Unannounced: a Novel George Beddingfield

UNANNOUNCED is a medical thriller reminding readers that terrorist attacks do not require crumbling towers. They can be small and cumulative, chipping away bit by bit at Western culture until, finally, they threaten the very essence of life as we know it. Dr. Jonathan Harding is a liberal-thinking physician and a hospital surveyor who works with The Joint Commission, nationwide manager of hospital accreditation. He loathes the methods used by federal law enforcement agents to gather intelligence. In early 2005 Arab-Americans posing as Joint Commission surveyors attempt to conduct several unanounced hospital surveys and The Joint Commission assigns Dr. Harding to investigate. Jonathan discovers a link to Islam and fears terrorism. Reluctantly, he recruits FBI Special Agent Peter Larsen to help him unravel the mysterious events. The two explore hospitals and mosques in three cities in an effort to get to the bottom of the scheme which, they learn, was contrived by Islamic jihadists who hope to infiltrate American hsopitals and gain a toehold in their battle to undermine Western culture. Jonathan and Peter discover the surveyor-imposters were coached by imams who have subsequently fled to Pakistan. Working with pragmatic, easy-going Peter completely reverses Jonathan's opinion of federal agents and their methods. A surprise ending reveals a new kind of grassroots attack devised by the jihadists from their base in the caves of Afghanistan.