Run

When Marc Bowman, the hero of this fast-moving but muddled standalone from Grant (Even), is fired from his gig as an IT consultant for struggling AmeriTel, he’s plunged into a maelstrom of misery. The day before his canning, Marc downloaded AmeriTel data into two memory sticks that he took to help develop his next Big Idea. Marc’s wife, Carolyn, a regular employee of the firm, sides with those who suspect him of stealing the data. Unbeknownst to him, a corporate smoking gun, as well as an even more catastrophic computer virus, is embedded within the seemingly innocuous electronic records. Before you can say “Mayday!” Marc is sprinting for his life from heavily armed pursuers who shoot up the leafy Westchester, N.Y., suburbs as though they were playing Call of Duty. High on adrenaline, low on credibility, this cyber thriller leaves the reader baffled. Agent: Janet Reid, FinePrint Literary Management. (Oct.)