The 10th installment in Jackson's series to feature Detective Sergeant Mulheisen (after 2002's Badger Games
) delivers sturdy entertainment, though the post-9/11 plot hinges on the sometimes confusing interactions among Mulheisen, criminal Joe Service and FBI operative Colonel Vern Tucker. The bombing of a municipal building that nearly kills Mulheisen's mother leads the detective to the backwoods of Michigan, where he's threatened by militias and the enigmatic M.P. Luck, who's perhaps the book's most intriguing character. Meanwhile, Service, after settling down into a new life with his common-law wife Helen Sedlacek, finds himself in danger from unknown parties. He seeks out Mulheisen, and together they work to untangle a mystery that involves Luck, various governmental agencies and an old nemesis. Inevitably, they fall in with Tucker, who likes to play factions in the intelligence community against each other while advancing his own shadowy aims. Fortunately for our heroes, the bad guys are often ineffectual and less than bright. Despite what seem like high stakes, no one ever really suffers because of those stakes—everyone's just a little too nice. A subplot in which Sedlacek searches for her missing previous husband feels like padding. The ending neither disappoints nor rises above reader expectations; it could easily be the climax of a solid action film. Agent, Bob Dattila at Phoenix Literary Agency. (July 16)
