Blown Away
The plot and chief characters of Wiltse's latest thriller are good: a slicker, more daring Unabomber named Jason Cole is blowing up bridges and tunnels in and out of Manhattan, and ace FBI agent John Becker has to stop him. But it's the smaller players that raise the level ofBlown Awayto greatness -- a gallery of colorful, often hilarious hoods, losers and lunatics who come to life quickly and linger on in the imagination long after the last bomb has gone off. (Other Becker books by Wilste includeBone Deep,The Edge of Sleep,Into the Fire,Prayer for the Dead.)