cover image Trap the Devil

Trap the Devil

Ben Coes. St. Martin’s, $26.99 (400p) ISBN 978-1-250-04318-4

In the exciting seventh Dewey Andreas thriller (after 2016’s First Strike), bestseller Coes pumps new energy into a familiar plot: a secret cabal lies hidden within the upper reaches of the U.S. government. In 1981, CIA director William Casey huddles with Secretary of State Alexander Haig and outlines his plan to create a secret strike force made up of some of the country’s most elite soldiers. Casey chooses disaffected CIA man Charles Bruner to lead the unit. “Stay and help defeat these crazy Muslims,” Casey asks. Bruner, whose 10-year-old daughter died in a 1979 terrorist bombing in Madrid, accepts. More than two decades later, with their shadow government in place, Bruner and his group launch a treasonous plan, which includes assassinating the speaker of the house, the vice president, and the president. Dewey and other members of the CIA Special Activities Division display their formidable skills as they race to thwart the plot. Coes creates a believable hero in Dewey, who’s almost superhuman but never a cartoon. [em]125,000-copy first printing; author tour. Agent: Nicole James, Chalberg & Sussman. (June) [/em]