30 Seconds

Madison Avenue meets the mob in the Giancanas' entertaining second novel (after Double Cross). The thrills begin when ad exec Marty English's estranged father, an old-school Chicago don, is poisoned by his right-hand man and Marty inherits a valuable, mysterious computer disk. The disk draws Marty back into his father's world--just as he's about to land a multimillion dollar account with Arrow Pharmaceuticals. The key to acquiring the account is a 30-second Super Bowl spot, scheduled to take place at Arrow's glamorous eco-resort in Belize, where the odd behavior of Arrow executives and a conversation with a Mayan guide who works for the company lead Marty to suspect that the resort may be a CIA front. Suspicion turns to fear when he returns to Chicago and dead bodies start popping up. When a cop joins the victim list, Marty is forced to go underground to protect the disk and solve its secrets. What makes the Giancanas' tale such a wild ride is the clever use of interlocking subplots to build suspense, particularly a Mayan angle that adds both New Age and high-tech elements. The secondary characters tend toward the cardboard, but Marty English is an engaging protagonist who effectively combines slickness, intelligence and fallibility. Author tour. (Sept.)