Freedom to Kill

Freedom is at the heart of this fast-paced thriller about a killer who dreams of making the average American so afraid to do anything that the entire country will shut down. Dubbed a ""cataclysmist"" by an FBI profiler, this so-called Freedom Killer looses a virus in Disneyland, poisons heart medication in one city and children's aspirin in another. Assisting in the FBI's attempt to stop the Freedom Killer is Special Agent Mike Devlin, who gets assigned to the case after he captures a gang of Detroit-area bank robbers by taking the place of their driver and crashing the getaway car. But Devlin is nobody's assistant--he's a reckless loner who crosses the line of duty not by breaking the rules but by repeatedly (and needlessly) risking his own life. With the help of Tony Bonelli, a computer whiz who has multiple sclerosis, Devlin quickly takes the lead in the investigation and captures the Freedom Killer's attention. Ex-agent Lindsay (Witness to the Truth) knows his way around an FBI investigation, and he's made a believable maverick out of Devlin, somebody who automatically runs into a fire to see whom he can save. And the way Lindsay wrings the idea of freedom--in particular by contrasting the killer's emotional handicaps with Bonelli's physical drawbacks--adds a layer of depth to an already exciting and entertaining thriller. Author tour. (July)