Hard Target

Gordon’s second Gideon Davis foil-the-terrorists thriller (after 2011’s Gideon’s War) lacks the nail-biting tension that was the hallmark of the TV series 24, of which he was executive producer. Having earned the nickname “Man of Peace” for his work as a diplomatic envoy, Davis is quite capable of violence when necessary, as shown by the double-digit body count in his first outing. This time out, an informant tips Davis off to a West Virginia militia that’s plotting a major attack somewhere on U.S. soil targeting the federal government. Familiar plot elements include the FBI bureaucrat who throws obstacles in the paths of the maverick operatives racing the clock, hairbreadth escapes, and a down-to-the-wire climax. Notable among the stick figure characters is Shanelle Greenfield Klotz, “the only biracial, half-black, half-Jew in the Secret Service.” Nothing distinguishes this from the pack of Clancyesque suspense novels. Agent: Rick Rosen. (Jan.)