Wicked Game

A wicked twist and a killer ending highlight this superior series debut featuring hit man Joshua Thane, who's better known as Hex. Chase drops the reader right into the middle of things; Hex was hired to take out Dr. Mary Wilding, a scientist at a London college who reneged on a pharmaceutical product piracy deal with a gangster. But when Hex arrives at her home, he finds several disturbing things: someone has done the job for him, her son%E2%80%94about whom he'd been told nothing%E2%80%94is in the house, and the hard drive he was supposed to secure is missing. Uncharacteristically, Hex decides not to take out the boy, despite the dangers to himself that choice creates. And the botched assignment gets geometrically more complex when he sees that the crime attracted the attention of not only Scotland Yard but also British intelligence and the Mossad. Hex soon learns why-Wilding was connected with disturbing research into bioweapons that could target specific ethnic groups. The crisp writing enhances the thoughtful characterization that makes Hex an anti-hero whom readers will want to see more of. (Dec.)