American Traitor: A Pike Logan Novel

Bestseller Taylor’s taut 15th Pike Logan novel (after 2020’s Hunter Killer) takes Pike, the head of the Taskforce counterterrorism unit, and his Taskforce member girlfriend, Jennifer Cahill, to Australia for some vacation. They intend to stay with former Taskforce colleague Dunkin Delmonty, but on arrival they find Dunkin on the run from Chinese assassins. Dunkin recently exposed the schemes of his coworker, a Chinese-American artificial-intelligence specialist, who sabotaged the software of the new F-35 fighter jet and stole the code for the early-warning system protecting Taiwan from Chinese invasion. The attack on Dunkin prompts Pike to call in his Taskforce unit and team with a former Taiwan intelligence agent to stop a war between the beleaguered island nation and the despotic Chinese government. A memorable cast, powerful action scenes, and authentic tradecraft compensate for blandly generic settings, with neither Australia nor Taiwan brought much to life. Series fans will appreciate the continuing evolution of the characters and the customary attention to tactical detail. Taylor reinforces his place as a major player in the military action genre. Agent: John Talbot, Talbot Fortune. (Jan.)