LAST DAY

Daily life for an undercover narcotics agent is perilous at best, but add drug addiction to the mix and the narc's world can spin out of control, into a dangerous and violent realm too far from reality for a safe return. Jack Lamb, a Long Island narcotics division cop, is recruited by ambitious and unscrupulous Westchester County DA Jane Carroll for a special undercover op targeting local drug kingpin Ray Sasso, the "family"-connected leader of the Sons of Fire Motorcycle Club. A shaky start turns deadly when, to protect his cover, Jack (who is using the alias Charlie Wolf) starts taking the crystal methamphetamine that Sasso pushes. Addicted to the drug and moving too close to Ray, he grows paranoid, confusing the players and taking a bullet to the head during the blown bust operation. The bullet lodges in his brain and sparks psychic episodes that, combined with drug withdrawal, keep his life off balance. Sasso calls for revenge from his cell, and Jack's wife and young daughter are in real danger when the pushy DA gets him to sign a false report to set Ray up and keep him in prison illegally. Events escalate when a bomb meant for Sasso kills his wife and son by mistake; Jack's nightmare becomes his only reality as Ray reaches out for vengeance. Sears (First Born) writes some of the hardest-edged crime going and his characters are viscerally real. The psychic episodes that become pivotal to the plot resolution will mar the ending for some and render it perfect for others. (Jan.)