Icarus

This noir novel with a Montana accent is dedicated to real-life skyjacker D. B. Cooper, who collected his ransom in-flight and bailed out into oblivion. Cooper's story obviously inspired that of the fictional Danny Cox, who also finds a unique means to make his getaway from a skyjacking. Cox and Max Hubbard, his copilot, buy land together near Missoula. When the security of his idyllic ranch is threatened by land speculators, Cox helps finance the opposition by throwing in with Hubbard and a group of hardened spooks they served with in Vietnam. The small-scale involvement escalates into events that cause Hubbard's death. Cox falls into the power of Lane Blackmuir, a powerful consultant to presidents who is not above plotting a candidate's assassination. Koepf (Save the Whale) and Crawford (Lords of the Plain) have found wonderful ways to use their knowledge of flying to spice up large and small confrontations. And they settle for nothing less than a nitty-gritty portrayal of crass mercenaries and the man who must rely on them. But the face-offs and escapes multiply beyond reason in this novel, and the repetition diminishes the credibility of what might have been a fine, streamlined tale of the frigid Northwest. (April)