Pegasus Down

In Donlay’s uneven sixth Donovan Nash novel (after 2015’s Aftershock), the Defense Intelligence Agency, which employs Nash’s wife, Lauren, sends her on a secret mission to Slovakia to extract an old flame of hers, Daniel Pope, who apparently has been blackmailed into designing a stealth jet capable of delivering a nuclear weapon. When the plane Lauren is aboard crashes somewhere in Eastern Europe, she survives only to find herself a target of the very people who want to use Daniel’s invention to commit a terrorist act. Donlay checks all the boxes of the genre: strong male lead (with an unlimited bank account, no less), capable friends with appropriate skills, and a lightning-fast pace. However, most of the characters are right out of central casting, and the excessive exposition can be jarring. Even so, Lauren is a standout, and she gives Nash a run for his money in smarts and determination; though Nash may be coming to her rescue, she doesn’t need him to. Agent: Kimberley Cameron, Kimberley Cameron Associates. (Mar.)