The Helios Conspiracy

DeFelice's third thriller featuring maverick FBI Agent Andy Fisher (after Threat Level Black) features neither a compelling storyline nor a memorable lead. In the "near present," Fisher, who occupies a unique niche in the Bureau as the "one-man problem-solver" for the director, ignores an email from a former girlfriend, Kathy Feder, and lives to regret it. While he's otherwise engaged at a bar, Feder is gunned down in her hotel room. Tragically, Feder's last communiqu%C3%A9 is opened too late; Fisher learns after her murder that she wanted his help to deal with something "terrible," and dedicates himself to tracking down her killer. She had been working as the vice-president for finance for Icarus Sun Works, an energy concern whose Helios project aimed to capture the sun's energy via satellite and beam it down to earth. The threat that innovation poses to other players in the energy business supplies an obvious motive for her murder, and Fisher travels the country to bring Feder some justice. The author keeps things moving, but the lead's quirks aren't enough to sustain interest. (Feb.)