Snowstorm in August

This adrenaline-fueled thriller from bestseller Karp (the Lomax and Biggs mysteries) opens with a terror attack. New Yorkers are stunned by what appears to be a massive summertime snowfall limited to Central Park. They’re horrified when the falling white powder turns out to be thousands of pounds of cocaine, which kills hundreds. The coke was dropped from a helicopter on the orders of drug lord Joaquín Alboroto, “one of the most loved, most hated, most feared men on the planet.” A flashback explains why Alboroto has declared a vendetta against New York City. Alboroto’s narcotrafficker son, Sebastián, is about to walk on federal charges because of a tainted chain of evidence, when Harvey Solomon, the terminally ill judge who dismissed them and whose son overdosed on drugs supplied by the Alborotos, guns Sebastián down in his courtroom. Alboroto is opposed by a secret team of ex-cops, financed by unidentified billionaires, led by Solomon’s son-in-law. Awkward prose (“Like any hurricane, war, or can of soup, a disaster needs a label”) matches the over-the-top plot. Some will tune in for a sequel just to see how much wilder future rides will get. Agent: Mel Berger, WME. (June)