The romantically unflappable Amanda Garrett, the maritime commander of Cobb's action-at-sea series, falls out of character and into the arms of a modern-day pirate on her latest voyage. Garrett, leader of an elite navy strike force known as the Sea Fighters, is called to arms after pirates lay siege to a U.S. research vessel in the Indonesian Sea and steal a satellite that contains military secrets. Assisted by her able crew aboard the high-tech destroyer USS Cunningham, Garrett quickly determines that the satellite thieves are part of a huge organization of oceanic marauders led by the dashing Makara Harconan. While in pursuit, however, Garrett allows herself to be not only seduced but also kidnapped by Harconan, who takes her to his secret hideout where, coincidentally, the satellite is also stored. Garrett's poor judgment forces the Sea Fighters to turn a simple seek-and-recovery job into a damsel-in-distress rescue mission. Cobb's fourth Garrett adventure (Sea Fighter; Sea Strike), set in 2008, packs plenty of hard-charging Neptunian spirit and features dogged sea battles and interesting historical asides about Indonesia and piracy. Garrett's weakness for the archipelago's Svengali, however, not only is odd considering her previous guts-and-glory determination but gives an otherwise steely plot a squishy core. Cobb's hand at suspense slips a bit here, too: although they lose their commander for a time, nothing really comes too hard for the Sea Fighters. (Feb.)
Forecast: Most Cobb fans will throw up their hands at their heroine's slip into romance; a few will enjoy the diversion. This isn't one of Cobb's best efforts, but the franchise is still seaworthy.
