Landfall

The third entry in Gibbs's nautical mystery series (launched with Dead Run ) boasts strong characters, plenty of rocky romance and a convoluted plot that requires readers to transfer loyalties several times en route to the blood-spattered conclusion. Jake Adler, a military man with connections to a dubious right-wing organization, charters the yacht Glory and involves its owner Gillian Verdean, the captain (and Gillian's lover) Jeremy Barr and the cook Patrick O'Mara in a clandestine operation on the fictional Caribbean island of St. Philip. Although the plot, which involves powerful governments, doesn't really convince, Gibbs generates a satisfying kinetic rush with all the mayhem: freak car accidents, collisions at sea, abductions and a sinister island house with a dungeon. Lush locales and extensive, but not overdrawn, seafaring lore add to the reading pleasure. (Nov.)