Red Deception

Grossman and Fuller’s exciting sequel to 2019’s Red Hotel finds Dan Reilly, the president of the International Kensington Royal Hotel Corporation, in a taxi during morning rush hour in Washington, D.C., when two stalled trucks loaded with explosives blow a huge hole in a bridge over the Potomac, killing nearly 100. Simultaneous bombings occur in New York City and St. Louis. Meanwhile, Russia is massing troops on the borders of Ukraine and Latvia, preparing to invade. A former army intelligence officer who later worked in the State Department, Reilly is soon up to his neck investigating these incidents, because at the State Department he prepared a report detailing possible terrorist attacks on America’s infrastructure that closely match the three attacks. Meanwhile, he becomes involved with a woman but remains strangely unaware that she clearly has hidden agenda. The authors keep the multiple plot lines moving swiftly ahead with rapid scene shifts, and the behind-the-scenes look at the high-end international hotel world lends authenticity. Reilly is a believable, able hero, though many thriller readers will shake their heads at his romantic naiveté. Hopefully, he’ll be back soon for more adventures. Agent: Carol Mann, Carol Mann Agency. (June)