cover image Night Drop

Night Drop

Michael W. Sherer. Cutter, $14.99 trade paper (386p) ISBN 978-0-989-27482-1

Sherer's tepid third thriller featuring Blake Sanders (after 2013's Night Tide) plunges his series hero into a frantic search for his ex-wife, Seattle lawyer Molly McHugh, who has been abducted and is being held by unknown kidnappers. Sanders suffers from ADHD, a condition that makes him obsessive and impulsive to the point that he annoys everyone around him%E2%80%94including members of the FBI, Molly's law firm, and the police. In addition, Sanders's over-the-top reactions make him a difficult hero to root for. Pakistani terrorist Yousef heads up the cell that carried out the abduction and is organizing a dirty bomb attack on Seattle, although the real mastermind is a shadowy Iranian known as the Persian. One of Molly's legal clients, ex-Navy SEAL Trip Macready, is also searching for her. Sherer shoehorns in all the usual tropes in the genre, but the action is slow to build, and when the climax arrives there's little doubt who will prevail. (Sept.)