Simon (Death Logs In, 2014, etc.) delivers the latest chapter of his Michael Nicholas adventures in this international tech-thriller.

Michael is the CEO of Gibraltar Financial, an upstanding financial company, but he’s also been running an illegal gambling ring called Tartarus ever since his brother, Alex, died. But that death, which took place two years ago, is complicated: Alex uploaded his consciousness to an artificial intelligence program, which allows him to live, so to speak, beyond the grave. That’s useful for Michael, who’s facing a proverbial sea of troubles: his company is being taken over by a man named Jonathan Goldstein, who wants to strip its assets for profit; Sindy Steele, Michael’s ex-bodyguard and mistress, has become unhinged and is putting Michael’s family in danger; and Kurt Schlegelberger, the pope’s consigliere, and Hans Ulricht, a wealthy Swiss banker, want to eliminate Michael before they go forward with their plan for a new world order. Suffice it to say that there’s a lot going on at once, and Michael is frequently in danger, only to be saved by the literal deus ex machina of his artificial intelligence brother. Simon balances out the constant action and globe-trotting with some lighter scenes featuring Alex communicating with his ex-wife, Donna, or other past lovers, confusing and enthralling those who assumed he was dead and gone. That said, the characters are underdeveloped; the cartoonish bad guys, in particular, stretch the story’s credulity. Also, after two previous books in this series, it’s odd that some characters still can’t seem to wrap their heads around the concept of Alex existing on a computer. There are some engaging discussions about consciousness after death and about artificial intelligence, although these wrap up quickly in order to focus on the increasingly unbelievable machinations of the plot. Indeed, the story serves up plenty of twists and turns, giving the story a propulsive, unflagging pace.

Tech-savvy action fans and conspiracy buffs will find plenty to like, despite some thin characterization.

CEO Michael Nicholas may have survived gangsters out for blood, but he’s still in danger, facing assassination attempts and corporate takeover in Simon’s (Death Never Sleeps, 2013) latest thriller.

It’s been less than a year since Alex, brother to Gibraltar Financial chairman Michael, was murdered and subsequently, in a manner of speaking, resurrected—as an artificial intelligence designed in Alex’s image. Michael manages Alex’s sports-gambling and loan-sharking business, Tartarus, with ease, but the associated criminal element remains: Sharkey, who ordered Alex’s murder, is hiding in Italy with help from people in the Vatican. Vatican officials send a bishop to stir up trouble at Gibraltar—announced as a new board member to accommodate a merger (a thinly disguised takeover)—and a hit man, Frank Cortese, to off Michael. Michael needs the resourceful Alex-AI more than ever, as even Sindy Steele, his newly hired bodyguard and amour, is more lethal than he initially perceived. The novel teems with subplots, involving John Rizzo, a former cop, whom Michael humiliates after Rizzo tries to cheat the gambling end of Tartarus, and a photographer, who learns the hard way that Frank doesn’t like having his picture taken. But Simon expertly manages these various storylines, and they help maintain an impressive pace that’s speedier than the author’s previous outing. Michael is generally a believable protagonist; however, he isn’t even part of the story for much of the Gibraltar situation, which includes Hans, a Swiss banker (and Nazi descendant), who arrives in NYC to helm some of the company’s shady goings-on. Simon keeps the technological aspect basic: The novel offers no specifics on Michael’s investment in the AI’s recent upgrade or its expansive cyberaccess. It is perplexing, however, that no character seems to grasp the simple and well-known concept of artificial intelligence; Michael himself talks to the Alex-AI almost as if it were his brother’s ghost, naïvely asking it, “What’s it like to be dead?”

An action-laden plot and another open ending will have the series collecting many more fans.