K Street: A Kay Hamilton Novel

Early in Lawson’s fast-paced third Kay Hamilton novel (after 2015’s Viking Bay), the former DEA agent heads one evening to her current employer, the Callahan Group, located on K Street in Washington, D.C., in order to resign. When she runs into heavily armed men exiting the Callahan office with a safe, she shoots one dead with her Glock, but two others escape. Inside, she finds her boss, Thomas Callahan, gravely wounded. Later, in the hospital, Callahan conveys a single name to her, Olivia Prescott, before lapsing into a coma. Kay doesn’t know what was in the safe, who Prescott might be, or even who’s behind Callahan and his black-ops missions. She only knows that she wants answers and that time is ticking. Lawson writes great action pieces, but some of his character’s reactions don’t ring true. Primary among these is the question of why Kay is so dogged in her pursuit of Callahan’s attackers, given her own tenuous relation with the man. This makes for an exciting if not always believable story. Agent: David Gernert, Gernert Company. (Jan.)