The Price of Blood

The thrill of a treasure hunt permeates Logan's second novel (after Hunter's Moon), adding a dash of childlike excitement to the gritty realism. Vietnam vet Phil Broker, now an undercover cop in the Minneapolis area, gets a surprise visit from Nina Pryce, a feisty Silver Star winner in the Gulf War and the daughter of Broker's dead army buddy Ray Pryce. Nina has proof that her father did not, as everyone thinks, abandon his buddies to steal tons of gold bullion in Hue City in the waning days of the Vietnam War. Her evidence points to Cyrus LaPorte (another old army buddy), who is now a rich New Orleans tycoon. To clear her father and nail LaPorte for the theft, Nina and Broker must find the bullion, a quest that brings them up against hired thugs, a dying friend, a bride who wants her husband murdered and--in Vietnam--another old comrade who may have her own agenda. Logan creates a world that feels original. The brooding, untrusting Vietnam vet has become a thriller cliche, but Broker's attitude seems fresh when played off against Nina's gung-ho, chip-on-her-shoulder Gulf War vet. Full of new textures and twists, this darkly entertaining novel deserves a wide readership and sustains Logan's promise as one of the best of the new thriller breed. $50,000 ad/promo; author tour; U.K., translation, dramatic rights: ICM. (Mar.)