Dead Heat (Political Thrillers Series #5)
In the latest Jon Bennett and Erin McCoy thriller—billed as the finale of the series—terrorists attack the U.S., vaporizing a large chunk of Washington, D.C.; destroying CIA headquarters; and turning Times Square into rubble. The president is presumed dead, and the shaken vice president is trying to restore order. Naturally, he calls on one man: Jon Bennett, the presidential advisor who’s already seen more than his fair share of life-threatening danger. Only Jon can stop the terrorists before things get even worse, but Jon’s a little preoccupied right now: his wife of only eight months, Erin, is in a refugee camp in Jordan, stricken with a potentially fatal illness. As usual, Rosenberg piles on the action and political commentary, and, also as usual, his right-wing politics are perhaps too overtly evident, threatening to interfere with the story. On the other hand, the story itself is exciting, the characters are more than cardboard, and the pace is frenetic (except for the times when a neon sign flashing author’s message interrupts the flow). --David Pitt