Stolen Identity

A root canal and an IRS audit would be guilty pleasures compared to the morning endured by Zane Keator, a Vietnam War vet and now retired CIA assassin, in this high-octane, compulsively readable thriller from Thriller Award finalist Sherer (the Blake Sanders series). Fresh from confronting a grim cancer diagnosis, Zane suffers a brutal predawn raid on his Detroit home, courtesy of a crew of shoot-first FBI agents. This is because a Middle East ISIS terrorist cell has stolen his identity, implicating him in major planned mayhem, including a prison break to free the son of terrorist mastermind Zayn al-Qadir. Zane becomes caught in a frenzied, cross-Midwest car chase, pursued by the law and the lawless alike. Further problems include a grandson in danger, dysfunctional family relations, FBI rivalries, and a bomb in the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The gung-ho pace leaves little room for developing character and setting, but there’s never a dull moment and few dull sentences. This is a first-rate hijacking of any thriller reader’s attention. (Jan.)