The Valhalla Testament

With a relentless pace that builds to an intensely charged resolution, this thriller succeeds even though Land repeats the same tricks he's employed in earlier works like The Gamma Option . Jamie Skylar is baffled by his sister Beth, who is living with Jose Riaz, a former Sandinista executioner; but when she begs Jamie for help, he's off to Nicaragua. When Riaz and Jamie are away for the day, assassins (apparently Contras) slaughter Beth and the rest of the household. Riaz pursues vengeance by directing a terrorist attack within the U.S.; Jamie, imprisoned by local authorities, escapes with the aid of Chimera, an enigmatic woman sent to kill him. Jamie learns that Beth was with the CIA and that her death is tied to an unexplained explosion at an Australian weapons plant. With his own life still in danger, Jamie flees to safety in the U.S. and Chimera follows the mystery to Australia. In their adventures, each discovers that the force manipulating events is a conspiracy to discredit the current U.S. government and influence an upcoming election. The two meet again when the Nicaraguans take the young students of an American school hostage; trapped on the campus and cut off from the rescue forces, Jamie and Chimera must warn the police of deadly traps. (Aug.)