cover image AFTER THE RAIN

AFTER THE RAIN

Chuck Logan, . . HarperCollins, $24.95 (416pp) ISBN 978-0-06-057018-7

Logan's last two books featuring Phil Broker have emphasized extreme weather conditions: Phil broiled in Vapor Trail , froze in Absolute Zero , and incessant rain is the key to this fifth thriller in an outstanding series. Phil's estranged wife, army Maj. Nina Pryce, is back in the U.S. and involved in a high stakes antiterrorist mission with crusty old ex-Special Forces Col. Holland Wood and lesbian warrior Jane Singer. Their lead is a name, Ace Shuster, who turns out to be a likable ne'er-do-well North Dakotan who runs a small liquor-smuggling operation. Nina's assignment is to romance Ace until he spills the beans. Phil—ex-cop, ex-soldier and all-around knight-errant—is drawn in because it's a righteous cause, and Nina still looks pretty damn good to him. The pace is rather stately until the rain stops, then the plot picks up speed until all concerned are racing toward a confrontation involving the destruction of a large chunk of American real estate and the citizens thereon. It's an unbeatable combination: a smart, well-honed plot, fascinating characters (including a Lebanese sleeper spy, various local smugglers and a sexually deviant psycho-killer) and a writer with an original voice and the prose skills to tie it all together. Agent, Sloan Harris. (July)

Forecast : Excellent reviews should help boost Logan into the top ranks of contemporary thriller writers with increased sales to follow as word gets out about this fine series.