FDR Drive

Former FBI director Comey (Westport) reunites the protagonists of his first two legal thrillers for his strongest outing yet. U.S. attorney Carmen Garcia is trying to take down Samuel Buchanan, a far-right media personality with a popular podcast vilifying those he thinks are destroying America: intellectuals, immigrants, and people of color. Garcia believes Buchanan went far beyond the protection of the First Amendment when he singled out his enemies by name and suggested “something should be done” about them. His fans have obliged, killing or grievously injuring some of his foes. In a series of tense and exhilarating courtroom scenes, Garcia works with Deputy U.S. Attorney Nora Carleton to bring Buchanan down. Then, just as they’ve convicted him, a new threat emerges: some of his followers have planned an act of terror at an upcoming UN convention. Comey’s ripped-from-the-headlines plot—which, with its focus on Nora’s hand-wringing about following legal and constitutional protocol, is easy to read as a bit of self-reflection—never loses steam. This proves that Comey the crime novelist is here to stay. Agent: Kirby Kim, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (May)