Drift

McGoran (Body Trace and two other Madison Cross mysteries under his D.H. Dublin pseudonym) impressively integrates concerns about genetically modified produce with an action-filled storyline and fleshed-out characters. Det. Doyle Carrick of the Philadelphia PD, suspended after putting a gun to a drug dealer’s head to coerce information, uses his mandatory vacation to take residence in the house he’s inherited from his recently deceased parents in the rural community of Dunston, Pa. At a Dunston diner, he steps in to save organic farmer Nola Watkins from a creep who grabs her by the wrist. Watkins has also been receiving hang-up calls, which may be related to efforts by real-estate developers to buy out most of the local land owners. Watkins’s refusal to sell may have ticked off those who have already cut deals and who perhaps fear that she will ruin their sales. The disturbing, but scientifically plausible, secret at the heart of the bad guys’ schemes is an original one, and McGoran makes the most of it. Agent: Stacia Decker, Donald Maass Literary Agency. (July)