Madness of the Q: A Sam Teagarden Thriller

Set in 2025, Basnight’s unconvincing sequel to 2018’s Flight of the Fox thrusts Columbia University math professor Sam Teagarden into the middle of murder and conspiracy in yet another thriller centered on an ancient text that could upend Christianity. In the first chapter, the archaeologist who discovered the Quelle Document, “the long missing source for much of Matthew and Luke,” on a recent dig in Israel is murdered by an assassin who came to his office posing as a papal emissary. The find also triggers a rash of mass suicides around the globe and leads the FBI to seek help from Sam, who once worked for the CIA as a cryptologist. Killers crash the initial meeting between Sam and the FBI, starting a desperate race for survival that takes Sam to Israel. Unlikely action hero Sam makes numerous improbable escapes from peril, and the plot involves multiple contrivances, including Sam leaving a laptop with highly-confidential intelligence open on his seat while he goes to a plane’s lavatory. Even Dan Brown fans will find this a slog. (Dec.)