Final Winter

DuBois, known primarily for his Lewis Cole detective series, offers up a stand-alone thriller built around the threat of a massive anthrax terrorist attack. While the Twin Towers are still smoking, three intelligence officers meet to discuss averting future threats. They form secret units known as Tiger teams, drawing recruits from inside and outside existing government agencies. CIA officer Adrianna Scott, the head of Tiger Team Seven, announces to her crew of military and law enforcement experts that the U.S. will be hit big in approximately four weeks, though no one knows where or how. Points of view shift between the terrorists, who rush to implement their plan, and the good guys, who rush to stop the approaching horror but who have a mole buried deep within their ranks. The basic themes are familiar, but Dubois's execution is inventive, with plot twists good enough to keep readers whipping through the pages. (Jan.)