Publishers Weekly called her a powerful cultural icon, “complete with an Oscar-winning movie bearing her name” when it praised her New York Times bestselling motivational autobiography Take It From Me. Now, in her debut thriller Rock Bottom (Vanguard Press; March 1, 2011; $25.99), the first in a series, Erin Brockovich delivers a dramatic, fast-paced, one-of-a-kind thriller that is unique in its ability to entertain while simultaneously educating readers about the devastating environmental problems facing this country and the world today. Brockovich explores the issues she champions every day as an environmental and consumer advocate: protecting communities from environmental crimes that affect people’s lives and health, and the irreplaceable loss of pristine landscapes and potable water caused by greed and lax laws.
“One of the passions in my life is to do all that I can to protect communities from environmental crimes that affect people’s lives and health. I had thought of writing a nonfiction book about my commitment to this important issue, but I have always wanted to write a work of fiction,” says Brockovich. “I hope to attract a whole new group of readers who enjoy a page-turning novel of suspense with a courageous female character, A.J. Palladino, and to share why I have spent much of my life fighting for the welfare of victims of corporate greed across this country. I trust readers of Rock Bottom will find themselves caught up in the intrigue, romance, and danger of her journey.”
Pregnant and 17 years old, Angela Joy Palladino fled her small coal-mining town in West Virginia, trying to protect the people she loved, including her parents and Cole Masterson. She eventually triumphed as an environmental activist and was dubbed “The People’s Champion.” But now, A.J. has hit Rock Bottom, falling fast and far after her sassy mouth and feisty behavior get her blacklisted, and a crushing media disaster ends her career.
She faces a life-changing decision when Zachariah Hardy, a high-powered litigator, offers her a job taking on large mining corporations to stop their mountaintop removal in Scotia — the town she left in disgrace. A.J. finally accepts, and returns to Scotia with her whip-smart, special-needs 9-year-old son David in tow, hoping to find a sense of purpose in saving the only place she’s ever called home. But it isn’t the homecoming she was expecting and A.J. soon discovers deeper betrayals than she ever knew, realizing that hers aren’t the only secrets her mountain hometown has kept buried.
Her parents slam the door on her. Cole Masterson — David’s father and the man A.J. left town to protect — shuns her, and has switched camps to join the family mining corporation. Before she can meet Zachariah Hardy, he is being buried, his untimely demise seemingly linked to his pending case against Masterson Mining.
A.J. joins Elizabeth Hardy to continue legal action against the powerful Mastersons, but when David’s life is threatened, A.J. knows she must work fast. Confronting a harrowing past she thought she had laid to rest, she struggles to reveal the truth before the next murder ruins any chance she may have to reclaim her roots and create a new home and future for herself and her son.
Writing with award-winning medical suspense author C.J. Lyons, in Rock Bottom Erin Brockovich combines captivating characters, first-rate storytelling, and her real-life experiences in a thrilling novel that will grab you and not let go. In A.J. Palladino, Erin Brockovich has created an intriguing, irresistible and engaging heroine, a woman poised to take us all on the next dangerous and rewarding journey.
ABOUT ERIN BROCKOVICH
New York Times bestselling author Erin Brockovich was a legal clerk when she pursued evidence that amounted to the largest toxic tort injury settlement in U.S. history, forcing utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric to pay out $333 million in damages for contaminating the ground water of Hinkley, CA. Her story became the blockbuster movie “Erin Brockovich” starring Julia Roberts, in a role that earned the actress an Academy Award. The next year, her New York Times bestselling motivational autobiography Take It From Me was published. A sought-after motivational speaker, Erin hosted ABC-TV’s “Challenge America with Erin Brockovich” and Lifetime’s “Final Justice.” As president of Brockovich Research and Consulting, Brockovich continues her legal work and consults on numerous investigations into toxic spills, water and soil contamination, unexplained cancer clusters, fracking (a process used by oil and gas companies that contaminates ground water supplies), and other health hazards countrywide. These include the cluster of brain tumors in Cameron, Missouri, allegedly linked to a hide tanning plant 37 miles away; a cancer cluster in a suburb of West Palm Beach, Florida; and a coal ash spill in Knoxville, Tennessee. She lives in Southern California with her husband and children. Rock Bottom is her first novel.