cover image Zero Separation

Zero Separation

Philip Donlay. Oceanview (Midpoint, dist.), $25.95 (320p) ISBN 978-1-60809-068-6

At the start of Donlay’s tepid third thriller (after 2011’s Code Black), Donovan Nash and copilot Michael Ross run into a storm over Florida that forces them to land their plane in Boca Raton. On the ground, their discovery of the theft of a Gulfstream V threatens to unloose a host of secrets and demons. Only a handful of people know that Nash is really despised oilman Robert Huntington, believed by most to be responsible for the death of beloved environmental conservationist Meredith Barnes. After faking his own death nearly 20 years earlier, Huntington re-invented himself as Nash, the power behind Eco-Watch, a nonprofit research company. But FBI agent Veronica Montero stumbles onto the truth and blackmails Nash into helping her avenge her partner’s murder. That task leads the pair into a confrontation with a terrorist intent on unleashing a catastrophic attack on the U.S. that could kill millions. Too many stock characters and a melodramatic ending won’t win many admirers. (Mar.)