REVIEW: ON WINGS OF A LION

Author: Susan Wakeford Angard

Publisher: Tudor House

ISBN: 978-1-7338984-0-9

Shooting a commercial in the middle of a revolution is not precisely the wisest decision a film director could entertain, even if she is experienced and adventurous. And this is particularly more so if you are clueless as to the dangerous political climate you are getting yourself into with a skeleton crew.

In her debut novel, On Wings Of A Lion Susan Wakeford Angard exploits the Iranian revolution as an effective framing device in narrating the story of Kathryn Whitney who, in 1978 elects to travel to Iran from her home in Los Angeles to film a commercial for the Boeing Company. Her ultimate goal was to air the commercial during the Super Bowl breaks. There also exists the possibility of creating a documentary portraying the state of affairs of Iran at the time of the revolution.

Kathryn had introduced the Boeing account to her ex-husband Brett's company, Whitney Productions, and was unrelenting in her decision to direct the commercial against the vigorous rejection of Brett. According to her ex, the shoot was too big and dangerous for her, and she was way over her head to the extent that she would be putting his company's reputation on the line. Consequently, he fired her from being the director of the commercial and told her to get lost.

Nonetheless, remembering her last botched shoot with Purina, Whitney had something to prove when she mulled over her failed marriage, her career in shambles, and her one chance at a family lost at Laguna Seca Raceway. She wasn't going to tolerate Brett getting in the way. She intended to win over Wally Brandt, the head honcho of Boeing, that he would not be able to get what he wants from the commercial without having her as director no matter what Brett says or thinks.

Kathryn is quite creative when it comes to convincing a client to go along with a project, which she entitles The Birth of Flight. She applies her creative skills in convincing Wally that she has the know-how to pull off a commercial with all of its bells and whistles including a view of the dazzling Palace of Darius and the winged lion of Persepolis, a symbol of power and majesty. After listening to her colorful presentation, Wally is sold and tells her it is a winner and he loves it.

With the go-ahead from Wally, Kathryn assembles her well-seasoned team which includes the handsome playboy, polo player, best still photographer and court photographer to the Shah of Iran, Anthony Evans, who is half Persian and half English. He also occasionally acts as a liaison between the Ministry of Culture and film dignitaries.

What begins as a challenge to complete her commercial on time and within budget turns out to be exceedingly life-threatening situations for Kathryn and her crew. She also enters into an evolving complicated burning love relationship with Anthony-something she was not envisaging when she took on the assignment, particularly with someone who has many concealed secrets and is known to be quite a ladies' man.

For starters, Kathryn will soon discover that Anthony, together with his co-pilot Hans Ebber, is deeply involved in the dangerous task in rescuing Iranians out of Iran from the clutches of the Black Glove terrorists, a splinter group of the Shah's Secret Intelligence and National Security Organization (SAVAK). He is also a close friend of the Shah's wife, Princess Fawzia who confides in him that there is a plot to quietly extract the Persian Glories, which are the crown jewels of Iran from the Bank of Tehran, where they are safeguarded in a display case, and replace them with replicas. We also learn that Anthony's parents were killed in an airplane crash, which, as it turns out, was not exactly accidental.

Angard does an excellent job in delivering a thoroughly sprawling thriller with realistic dialogue that brings a large cast of characters to life while managing to bestow harrowing scenes of Iran at the time of the revolution where chaos, violence, and evil were the order of the day. What really adds to the novel's terrific narrative drive and power is that these characters come with quite a mixture of their own personal stories, surprises, mysteries, secrets, conflicts, sufferings, agendas, betrayals and grudges which commands our attention like lightning and thunder from just over the horizon. If you like super-charged thrillers with nightmarish plot twists, mind-blowing action scenes, and some racy romantic encounters, you no doubt will enjoy On Wings Of A Lion.

Follow Here To Read Norm's Interview with Susan Wakeford Angard