What is the theme in Mortal Fear by Greg Iles?

Reaction to fear is another theme in the story. There are a number of reactions to fear when the various characters are faced with threats. When Harper Cole realizes that the killer is at or near his home and that he and Drewe are unprotected, he calmly reaches over and locks the door. He will soon slip out of the room to get guns for both himself and Drewe, but he also begins to look around for a proactive way to attack without meeting the killer face-to-face. When he comes up with the idea of creating the bomb from the laser jet printer, Drewe is immediately skeptical and just as carefully looks for another answer. Her faith in Harper's plan drops even more when he admits that he doesn't know how big the explosion will be.