When scientist Johnny Gault is fired from his high-paying job at a military research facility, he is desperate to find new sponsors for his bizarre experiments. Gault's new racket is a deadly home security business for the ultra-rich: booby-trapping their property with high voltage electricity and snake venom injection devices.

Kate Sandford, investigative journalist, is tipped off about Gault's shady business. She sets out to uncover his scheme, but soon finds that she may be in over her head as Gault won't hesitate to use any means necessary to rid himself of the snoop on his trail.

Commander Larry Cole of the CPD is led to Gault by his investigation into the strange deaths of criminals in booby-traps. Cole and Sandford team up to try and stop the renegade scientist, who has now built a solar-powered vehicle equipped with a flamethrower and a laser beam, which he has nicknamed Red Lightning. Gault's ingenuity, coupled with his fondness for high-powered explosives and deadly snakes, may well make him the most powerful enemy Commander Cole has ever faced.

"Fast moving...a compelling read about the seedy underworld of crime and the crime fighters who wage wars against it". -- Indianapolis Star on Chicago Blues

"If bang for your buck is what you crave, the blitzkrieg loosed by Hugh Holton's latest crime novel is sure to leave your ears ringing....Action junkies will likely devour this book". -- Chicago Sun Times on Chicago Blues

"Grim, gritty, fast-paced and fun". -- St. Petersburg Times on Chicago Blues

"Holton is right on target". -- Booklist on Violent Crimes