Kilo Option

Nuclear terror threatens the Mideast in an action-packed thriller that boasts all the energy and thrills of a classic James Bond novel--and that requires a Bond-sized suspension of disbelief. Thanks to a second Gulf War, Saddam Hussein has been kicked out of Baghdad. Now he's plotting to regain his seat of power with the help of the secret plan of the title, which involves stolen nuclear missiles aimed at Tel Aviv. The only obstacle: NSA analyst and superspy Bill Lane, returning from Flannery's Winner Take All, who has the uncanny ability to put stray facts together (a Russian spymaster's multi-national sightings; the misleading clues of a double agent; the erratic behavior of a submarine commander) and arrive in the nick of time to thwart disaster. Through set pieces that crackle with excitement, Flannery invigorates a complicated plot that involves a Russian Kilo-class submarine in Iranian hands, a soulless Russian killer and a body count worthy of a Schwarzenegger movie. His writing is brisk and compelling, allowing readers to skate over a number of potholes--the payoff doesn't quite justify the buildup; Lane is rarely wrong; and the woman in the hero's life, though capable, ends up as a damsel in distress. Flannery's world, which prizes gutsy professionalism above all, is one in which the woman may be spunky but the men have all the fun--of which there's plenty here. (Sept.)