Looking for a book to give someone this holiday season? Consider David Raterman’s thriller, especially if you like international political thrillers. Raterman is South Florida Adventures’ editor. His book is on sale at Amazon for only $7.91 in paperback ($2.99 for ebook).

“David Raterman has published what may be the first thriller set in Afghanistan on 9-11 with ‘The River Panj.’ Raterman’s debut uses the world events of Sept. 11, 2001, to show a personal tale of Derek Braun, a former Notre Dame football star who has found a calling doing relief work in Afghanistan. As terrorists shock the world, Derek is on his own when his fiancée and a colleague are kidnapped.” – South Florida Sun Sentinel

“… the real deal. Just read the first few pages of THE RIVER PANJ and you’ll discover an exciting new writer.” – David Hagberg, best-selling thriller novelist

“The October issue of THE BIG THRILL is here with the latest books from some of your favorite authors, including Wendy Corsi, Staub, Lee, Child, John Sandford, Vincent Zandri, David Raterman …” – Janice Bashman, editor of the International Thriller Writers’ magazine

“An exciting page-turner.” – Broward Cultural Quarterly

“Derek Braun … confronts Islamic terrorists, corrupt Russian soldiers and Afghan warlords as the trail leads him to the River Panj along the Afghan border with the former Soviet-controlled Tajikistan.” – IndieReader (Received 4 out of 5 Stars)

“Great change of venue with a charismatic lead character. (Ryan Goslin, are you reading this?) So real it was like reading The New York Times.” – Ron Castell, former head of programming at Blockbuster

“The profession of relief worker is difficult and demands an enormous commitment, but gets hardly noticed except at the moment of great crises. I like this book for the way it is written but also because it sheds light on this incredibly important job.” – Peter Goossens, deputy country director of the UN World Food Programme in Afghanistan from 1999 to Sept. 13, 2001

“The humanitarian effort that goes with major combat operations isn’t always clean and precise. Terrorists look for every opportunity to exploit those trying to help. David Raterman’s novel has vividly captured the true essence of that.” – US Army Lt. Col. Blain Reeves, who served in combat with the 101st Airborne