The Neighborhood

At the start of this disappointing standalone from Betley (the Logan West thrillers), CIA dropout Griffin Huntsmen , whose company is “one of the most successful private military and security contractors in and around D.C.,” masterminds the armed takeover of the gated community of Hidden Refuge, Va., so that he can retrieve a misplaced laptop containing top secret data to prevent a mysterious foreign power from getting it. What he doesn’t realize is that one resident is former CIA agent Zach Chambers, who became Griffin’s nemesis years ago during an assassination debacle in Malta. Zack, who must now unpack the deadly skills he thought he’d given up, begins to pick off Griffin’s team of mercenaries one by one as they try to control the community’s captive residents. Zach gets help from such folks as his equally lethal brother, Nick, who drops by during the action, and his ex-boss at the agency, Brandon Harper, who also just happens to have settled in Hidden Refuge. Amid coincidences and unlikely complications, everyone gets to display or develop a full set of combat skills as the slam-bang yarn races to its conclusion. This one won’t win Betley any new fans. Agent: Doug Grad, Doug Grad Literary. (Aug.)