Resurrection Express

The pace never slackens in screenwriter Romano’s superior debut thriller. Two years after hacker genius Elroy Coffin survived a gunshot to the head that’s affected his memory, he receives an unexpected visitor at the Texas prison where he’s serving time for attempted murder and multiple counts of armed robbery. Wealthy and well-connected Jayne Jenison tells him his beloved wife, Toni, whom he believed dead, is still alive. Jenison promises to get Coffin released within two weeks if he’ll agree to help track down her grown daughter, who’s being held somewhere along with Toni. Extreme violence follows Coffin like a shadow once he’s out of prison, but the gunplay and torture always advance the complex, multilayered story line. Few will anticipate the plot twists or the extremely satisfying resolution. Romano doesn’t pull his punches, killing off characters the reader cares about, but again, the deaths serve a larger purpose and aren’t presented merely for shock value. Agent: David Hale Smith, Inkwell Management. (Sept.)