Direct Fire

Early in Tata’s solid fourth Jake Mahegan novel (after Besieged), the ex–Delta Force operative kills two gunmen who confront him late one night at a cabin on the grounds of a North Carolina golf resort, where he was supposed to meet two of his former Delta Force teammates, Patch Owens and Sean O’Malley. Patch and Sean have been taken prisoner, along with Jake’s mentor, Maj. Gen. Bob Savage, as part of a terrorist plot masterminded by Chechen war orphan Zakir Lecha, who has managed to sneak into the U.S. Aided by fighters smuggled into the country among legitimate Syrian refugees, Zakir succeeds in kidnapping the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Bartholomew Bagwell, and his wife, from their Arlington, Va., home. Their daughter, Army Ranger Cassie Bagwell, works with Jake, already on the trail of his missing buddies, to take down the terrorists. The plot may follow familiar lines, but the high-octane action scenes make this a must-read for military thriller fans. [em]Agent: Scott Miller, Trident Media Group. (Jan.) [/em]