Prey

The prose gallops like a runaway moose through Goddard's ( Balefire ) environmental adventure yarn as an international cabal of Very Big Businesses sends a mega-lethal hit squad, code name ICER, to destroy the pro-green activist groups whose demands are jeopardizing their profits. A covert team of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recruits rogue undercover cop Henry Lightstone to flush out the Chareaux brothers, two cold-blooded Cajuns who are running wild game hunts in national parks. Lightstone's smooth sting operation hits a speed bump when two ICER directors horn in on his private hunt. After making the bust, the Wildlife team watches as ICER uses its Interior Department clout to get the charges dropped. Dismantled and scattered across the country, Lightstone's team is targeted by an ICER terminator squad. Henry fakes out the FBI and reunites the surviving team members to cross paths with the Chareauxs. They escape with enough forensic evidence to lead them to ICER headquarters and to finger Washington bigwigs on the take. A convincing thriller starring a little-known Federal law enforcement group, with a terrific green backlash scenario. (Sept.)