Killer Thriller: An Ian Ludlow Thriller

Authentic-seeming background and meticulous detail somewhat mitigate the comic book superhero plotting and writing in Goldberg’s sequel to 2018’s True Fiction, which introduced Ian Ludlow, a thriller writer whose scripts have the unfortunate habit of coming true, and his sidekick, CIA agent Margo French, who’s adept at getting them out of the messes that his bumbling gets them into. The story alternates between the perambulations of Ludlow, who has come to Hong Kong to witness the shooting of his latest script, and glimpses of the violent actions of the Chinese cabal that has eyes and ears everywhere and is preparing to take over the world. The villains stumble across a copy of Ludlow’s script, which inadvertently parallels their own schemes, and decide he knows too much. They attempt to kill him in Hong Kong and in Shanghai and then in Paris, where the Chinese and Ludlow have a final showdown, in which Margo plays a decisive role. Despite the nonstop over-the-top action, cardboard cutout bad guys, and a surfeit of pointless killings, some readers will find this a suspension-of-disbelief page-turner. (Feb.)