05/04/2020
The crash of an airliner, whose passengers were coughing up blood, onto the rocky shore of a largely uninhabited island off the coast of South Africa kick-starts Rovin’s solid seventh entry in the series created by Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik (after 2019’s Sting of the Wasp). In Fort Belvoir, Va., former Op-Center director Chase Williams, who’s settling into his new job at the Defense Logistics Agency, the largest hub of black ops in the federal government, investigates the mystery of the downed jet and discovers a biological agent was involved. A toxin created years before was buried on the island and has recently been released. The race is then on to find and collect this weapon of mass destruction. The Chinese are first in line, and Williams sends in a team to stop them. Meanwhile, thieves have already collected a couple of the vials of the deadly toxin and set out to use them for their own nefarious purposes. Rovin capably orchestrates all the players en route to the explosive climax. The faraway location adds an extra dimension to the somewhat tired bio-terror plot. Tom Clancy fans will have no reason to complain. Agent: Mel Berger, WME. (Aug.)
