Devil Wind

Set in the waning days of 1999 in Los Angeles as fierce Santa Ana winds fuel massive wildfires, Shlian and Reid's second thriller featuring feisty on-air radio host Sammy Greene (after Dead Air) suffers from a lack of credibility. Sammy's estranged father, real estate tycoon Jeffrey Greene, is involved with Neil Prescott, a crooked U.S. congressman, who's plotting with CIA operative Albert Miller to shift the political climate. In particular Neil wants to ensure "the election of a president who favored a much more aggressive approach against the enemies of America and her Saudi brothers," by causing a dirty bomb explosion and toppling buildings through the use of a device called a resonator. A confusing plot, too many coincidences, and an emphasis on Sammy's romantic problems mark this effort as "thriller lite" and of interest mostly to those who are looking for plenty of pluck in their heroines and lots of tugged heartstrings. (Apr.)