Dark Fall

The adrenaline-pumping third installment in Andrews and Wilson’s Shepherds series (after Dark Angel) follows elite agent Jedidiah Johnson as he tracks down a dangerous new weapon. Jed leads a team of spiritual warriors known as the Shepherds whose goal is to subdue the demonic Dark Ones organization. The vaporization of a Peruvian village tips off the Shepherds to a lethal new “directed energy weapon” wielded by Victor, the leader of the Dark Ones, who plans to shake the faith of believers by causing destruction and suffering. Jed and his team—with the help of the Watchers, a group of gifted children with “second sight” into spiritual affairs—retrieve the weapon and foil Victor’s plan. Victor vows revenge, and with the Shepherds scattered across the U.S. investigating possible targets of the energy weapon, he attacks the boarding school where the Watchers live, determined to kill them all. Jed and the Shepherds catch on and race to the school, but the kids have to find a way to hold out until then. Jed is a believable hero and the menacing Victor makes for a perfect counterpoint, propelling this intense thriller that’s as heavy on action as it is on faith. Imaginative and exciting, this is another winner from Andrews and Wilson. (Nov.)