An Empty Hell: A Jackson Donne Novel

White’s dynamite third Jackson Donne novel (after 2008’s The Evil That Men Do) finds the former New Brunswick, N.J., narc cop hiding in Vermont, where he hopes to find peace. Alex Robinson, a former narc squad team member who claims Donne is out to kill him, has other ideas. He hires high school basketball coach Matt Herrick, who’s also a part-time PI, to track down Donne and deliver him to the police. Meanwhile, Robinson also contracts with two bounty hunter brothers to cause Herrick a world of hurt and bring Donne back to Jersey. Robinson promises to pay the brothers with money he doesn’t have. Readers will overlook the contrived, convoluted plot, because the characters, the situations, the pacing, the structure, and the writing are so good. And Herrick is one of the most distinctive new PIs to walk down the pike. Hopefully, he’ll be back in future installments. (Feb.)