Inauguration Day

Journalist Salhani's first novel, about a terrorist attempt on the U.S. president's life, has little to set it apart from others in this very crowded subgenre. Even timing the attack to inauguration day has become something of a clich%C3%A9. Omar, a Mideast-born terrorist who has all the usual backstory, blames the Americans for the death of his parents and vows revenge. Omar will be employing a new biological weapon, which he plans on loading into mortar rounds to be launched into the upcoming presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C. The operation is being financed by the leaders of six Mexican drug cartels who hope to capitalize on the ensuing chaos after the terrorist strike. Meanwhile, CIA agent Laura Atwood is assigned to investigate the death of Paul Hines, the CIA station chief in Beirut, where she stumbles onto the plan to kill the president. The story meanders along well-worn terror-thriller routes with stopovers for suspense-killing swaths of Middle East history until all the characters end up in Washington for the unsurprising conclusion. (Nov.)