Climatized: A Max Ford Thriller by Sally Fernandez is a novel with strong hints of a political thriller, a narrative that is as relevant as it is intriguing, and a delightful read for fans of sleuth and gritty investigation stories. We get hints of the setting at the start of the novel, a time when everything had changed, the country had stabilized and “support for the president’s plan had gained momentum. America was once again sailing on course.”

Maxine Ford is a retired Intelligence Agency director, a skilled investigator who can't put aside her passion to dig for the truth. When the wife of a well-loved senator hires her to investigate the untimely death of her husband, Max begins to uncover very unsavory facts. Three renowned scientists scheduled to testify before the senator's investigative committee are murdered a few days before the date of the testimony and the fourth one is missing. Max and her associate are about to face a powerful cabal that could be behind the killings and the threat of a multi-trillion dollar business industry. With compelling evidence, will the president make the choice to bring down a ruthless organization or take the easy way out?

Sally Fernandez has crafted a gripping thriller with an exciting cast of characters and has successfully woven the themes of global warming, crime, and sleuthing into the narrative, making the story relevant and realistic. The story has strong plot points and nothing —and I mean nothing — is what it seems. I enjoyed the characters, especially Maxine and Jackson. The characters are real and their humanity is deeply explored. The author keeps the story deft and balanced, skillfully introducing suspense and holding the reader’s interest through each page. Climatized: A Max Ford Thriller is the kind of book that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, told in a hypnotic voice and structured to propel readers from one exciting chapter to the next.

Climatized is a high octane political thriller by author Sally Fernandez, and part of the Max Ford Thriller series. Max is a woman on a mission with an extensive career in various fields of intelligence work. Determined to break out from the corporations and powers that she’s been working for, Max sets up as an independent private investigator. The wife of a dead politician hires Max when the police want to sweep her husband’s death under the rug, and the plucky investigator soon discovers that there’s a conspiracy regarding climate change that the victim was involved in. As scientists become victims too, Max finds herself trapped between politics, big business and the truth of global warming, with a terrible decision to make.

I think that the concept of climate change really makes this an apt and bang up to date thriller for the modern age. Sally Fernandez presents the corrupt ideology of big money business and its connection to politics with a sharp intellectual eye, but she never loses sight of providing plenty of action and interest in the tale for readers either. Max is a tough investigator who doesn’t let her gender get in the way of progress, and I really respected the fact that the book didn’t become solely about her as a woman. The events unfolding in this thrilling mystery are far bigger and more frightening in a realistic way, and I felt they were done true justice throughout the novel. Overall, Climatized is a highly recommended, intelligent and exciting read.