Tom Clancy: Duty and Honor

Blackwood's fast-moving second thriller featuring Jack Ryan Jr. (after 2015's Tom Clancy: Under Fire) finds Jack on leave from his secret organization, the Campus. Even though Jack is hampered by the lack of backup and expert assistants, he shows determination and serious spymaster skills as he contends with a mysterious group of Germans who are trying to kill him. After a second attempt on his life, Jack acquires a sidekick, journalist Effrem Likkel, who has been researching a story about Ren%C3%A9 Allemand, a French soldier who disappeared from his post in Port-Bou%C3%ABt, Ivory Coast, where he was part of a peacekeeping mission. Jack and Effrem engage in plenty of fighting and sleuthing as they race around the U.S., Europe, and Africa one step ahead of their pursuers. Blackwood, like Mark Greaney (who has also contributed to the Clancy franchise), is adept at hewing to Clancy's overall vision while producing books that are better written than the Clancy originals. Agent: Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, WME. (June)