The Passenger

Davis's sturdy, adrenaline-charged political techno-thriller sets a down-to-earth air force colonel against a deadly conspiracy involving formidable players in the White House and military. Medal of Honor-winner John Quinn is marking time at the Pentagon in a boring staff job, unhappy that injuries incurred in a mission over Iraq prevent him from flying again. Quinn is skeptical when his boss, scornful Major General Maxwell Cramer, suddenly gives him an auspicious assignment: heading the investigation of an air force Learjet crash in which the crew and the lone passenger, the president's half-brother, perished. Quinn picks outspoken fellow pilot Ted Chen--a highly competent but unpopular critic of the bureaucratic system--to assist him. Mistrust escalates when Quinn learns the White House has--against regulations--assigned Quinn's ambitious, opportunistic ex-wife, Jennifer Johnson, as a civilian observer on the case. Then Johnson is joined by the equally power-hungry White House Chief of Staff McKenzie, and soon the investigation is out of Quinn's control. Crafty Johnson leaks ugly rumors to the media, but before Quinn can unravel Johnson's involvement in the insider intrigue, other complications shed light on the situation. A female photography student who may have been a witness to the plane crash is missing; the daughter of an African-American former governor framed in a sex scandal raises questions about videotaped evidence of a murder coverup. Covert agents abound and bullets fly as Quinn and Chen fight for justice. Fast moving, atmospheric and authentically detailed, this gripping second novel (after The General) firmly establishes Davis--an ex-air force pilot with Pentagon experience--as a writer with a knack for white-knuckled suspense. (Aug.)