Send Flowers by Mike Crowley begins with John Griffith, manager of a pharmaceutical lab, finding his research lab going up in flames. He is more shocked to learn that the idea was to scuttle his research, which could have affected the company’s profits. Deeply agitated, he confronts Clifford Chasman, the CEO. The CEO in turn manages to get John and his coworkers on the list of terrorists to be neutralized. Now on the run, they circle almost the entire globe, spending time on deep seas or in unexplored lands. The CEO, though, sends helicopter borne agents in pursuit.

Send Flowers by Mike Crowley is a brilliantly conceived plot. The widespread misuse of civic sensibilities by profit seeking businesses, with no regard for the needs of the people involved, and how citizens, contractors and others are taken for granted is abundantly shown in this book. The urge to meet corporate interests, and the steps that are taken to control state machinery, are some of our realities displayed to their fullest extent. The central part played by the state authorities in all cases of social activism, unpleasant happenings like business rivalries, welcome changes like scientific advances as well as public demonstrations, are shown quite credibly. Mike Crowley has successfully maintained the tempo with a high degree of mystery and excitement, forcing one to be always on the edge. A very good thriller, it has all the elements to keep the reader eagerly waiting for the next event to follow.

John doesn't want to leave his wife and return to the office. He's a manager in a pharmaceutical company and the work load is very demanding, especially now that they've discovered and are developing a much needed cure for a very rare and deadly disease. Little does John know the chain of events that will lead him further away from his home and the one he loves: the fire that destroys the lab, the arsonist whom he unwittingly saves, the politics of making and selling drugs, and the deeply crooked policies that make it deadly dangerous to be a good guy in U.S. politics.

Send Flowers is an unlikely title for a terrorist-type plot, but the meaning behind the title does unravel as the story progresses. Mike Crowley has written a chilling tale of what's right and wrong and down-right dangerous in the world of high profile industry and U.S. politics. Money talks, that's the bottom line. But where the money leads is what scares the ordinary citizen. And that's what the main character is: John is just an ordinary citizen. He goes to work, he earns a pay cheque, he takes care of his wife and his home, and he loves his work. Why would he want to change that? As the character evolves, he continues to hold onto the belief that he can return to that good life. But will he? This novel has so many twists and turns, and the action-packed progression of the plot leads the reader on relentlessly. This is an outstanding mystery/thriller. I couldn't put this one down!