The Detonator

This dynamite standalone from Thriller Award–winner Zandri (Orchard Grove) pits demolition expert Ike Singer against Alison Darling, an assistant professor at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany, N.Y., where she’s studying “major-league explosions created by very small explosives.” Alison, who’s the daughter of Ike’s former partner, seeks revenge on Ike because she blames him for her father’s suicide in 1999, the mental breakdown of her mother (with whom Ike had a brief affair the same year), and the subsequent abuse she suffered in foster homes. To frighten Ike, Alison plants a series of small bombs, targeting a judge, a priest, and a Planned Parenthood director, as well as some Albany landmarks. The tension mounts as Alison threatens to kill Ike, his wife, and their 19-year-old son, whose progeria makes him a vulnerable target, as painfully as possible. Zandri makes the most of this thriller’s one sustained note. Agent: Chip MacGregor, MacGregory Literary. (Feb.)