KILLER DUST: A Mystery Featuring Forensic Geologist Em Hansen

For Em Hansen's eighth outing, Andrews takes on national security in a complicated plot about airborne anthrax and the possible devastation it could wreak on the planet. Em's knowledge of Earth's minutiae propels her from her Wyoming home to the humid wetlands of Florida, where her new lover, FBI agent Jack Sampler (introduced in 2002's Fault Line), has disappeared. As always, Andrews surrounds Em with a cast of unusual supporting characters; yet Hansen is still her gem—unpolished, naive and, worst of all for a Florida trip, hydrophobic. Ably combining science and suspense, Andrews once again entertains and educates, making the driest dust theory intriguing and portraying Florida's landscape in a new geophysical light. (Feb. 28)