Thirteen Across

Grant’s intelligent second thriller featuring physician and FBI agent Kate Morgan (after 2018’s The Singularity Witness) opens with a bang. Morgan is riding the Washington, D.C., Metro when a bomb explosion derails her train, causing massive casualties. Despite her valiant efforts to treat the wounded, Morgan comes under suspicion from the investigators after a briefcase with her name on it is found in a subway station—and the four-digit number that a Metro worker wrote on her wrist to mark her as a survivor turns out to unlock the briefcase, whose contents include clues to a crossword. Since one clue suggests an ongoing threat, Morgan is frantic to answer it. Amusingly, the FBI brings in real-life New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz to assist. Grant plausibly extrapolates from current science to explain the secrets behind the mayhem, which involve a covert government program that will resonate with readers of the Captain America comic book. Fans will look forward to Kate’s third outing. (BookLife)