cover image The Six-Degree Conspiracy, Vol. 1: A Jackson Guild Novel

The Six-Degree Conspiracy, Vol. 1: A Jackson Guild Novel

Jeff Shear. BlackRack, $12.95 trade paper (313p) ISBN 978-1-477626-56-6

Trying to forestall an act of nuclear terror on U.S. soil should make a suspense novel thrilling, but several digressions into the lead’s sex life dilute the impact of the main plot line of Shear’s series kickoff. In September 2009, Jack Guild, the press officer for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which helps “run the world,” has discovered and processed some essential intel: that crooked financier Manny Granov is not just a more-successful Bernie Madoff but “the clandestine loan shark of industry, defense and international affairs.” Twenty years after Granov backed the buy of Soviet-era atomic bombs, Jack has learned that one of the WMDs is back in play and going to be used against a significant American target. From the start, Granov is improbably larger than life—his schemes amassed him $65 billion—an impediment to suspending disbelief. The ending is certainly surprising, but not necessarily in a good way. [em](BookLife) [/em]