Storme Warning: A Wyatt Storme Thriller

In Ripley%E2%80%99s appealing fourth thriller featuring reclusive ex-football star Wyatt Storme thriller (after 1996%E2%80%99s Electric Country Roulette), Chick Easton, an old friend now providing security for obnoxious movie star Cameron Fogarty, shows up with movie director Geoffrey Salinger, who wants to film an epic western about Jesse James and his gang, on Storme%E2%80%99s 275-acre property in rural Missouri. Complications arise almost immediately after the arrival of the Hollywood crew, which includes Fogarty%E2%80%99s sycophants. Rory Marchibroda, once beaten by Storme, is seeking vengeance. When Bobby Frank Ventura, a hood with a stake in the movie%E2%80%94and Marchibroda%E2%80%99s former employer%E2%80%94makes trouble, Storme manages to get rid of Ventura and his bodyguards. Storme, a wise-cracking tough guy, does his best to avoid violence, until someone tries to kill him and a shooter wounds Easton during the filming of a gunfight scene. Readers will hope that Storme%E2%80%99s latest performance will earn him a quick encore. (Feb.)