cover image Nighthawk: A Novel from the Numa Files

Nighthawk: A Novel from the Numa Files

Clive Cussler and Graham Brown. Putnam, $29 (464p) ISBN 978-0-399-18401-7

Kurt Austin of the National Underwater and Marine Agency has to track down an unmanned experimental aircraft, the Nighthawk, in bestseller Cussler’s exciting 14th NUMA Files novel (after 2015’s The Pharaoh’s Secret, also coauthored with Brown). The Nighthawk went off course and disappeared as it was returning from a three-year mission in orbit. Kurt and his NUMA team, aided by the NSA’s Emma Townsend, have seven days to “find and shut off a ticking bomb that could shake the very foundations of the Earth.” It soon becomes apparent that there’s more at stake concerning the secret aircraft than Emma is admitting. Also chasing the Nighthawk are Russian and Chinese forces, in particular a deadly Chinese operative, Daiyu, who works for the Ministry of State Security. Meanwhile, Kurt must deal with double and triple crosses from his supposed friends. Tension builds as our heroes race to save the planet. Agent: Peter Lampack, Peter Lampack Agency. (May)