GHAURI'S SWORD

A Texas scientist working in India finds himself entangled with terrorists who kidnap his son and ex-wife in this debut thriller.

A hijacker aboard an American airliner threatens hundreds of passengers. But the heroic efforts of NASA physicist Dr. Randy Brown as well as an aviation engineer and a flight attendant avert a deadly crash. The three become media darlings overnight, but it’s Randy whom the government enlists for some “industrial espionage.” As tensions between India and Pakistan run high, Randy’s job is looking into India’s “nuclear capability”—namely missiles that the rocket scientist knows all about. Meanwhile, trouble brews in Pakistan when a terrorist group targeting a United States ambassador winds up abducting his wife, Melissa. She’s also Randy’s ex and is in a custody dispute over their 5-year-old son, Danny—the terrorists’ second hostage. The group’s leader wants to trade his captives for his imprisoned brother, but Randy knows the U.S. government will refuse to negotiate with the terrorists as a matter of policy. While he continues gathering information on nuclear missiles, he pins his hopes on someone somehow finding out where the villains have stashed Melissa and Danny before it’s too late. Sylvester’s sharply written, taut story opens with the nerve-racking hijacking. It’s such a superb segment that the author, a lifelong pilot, could have expanded it into its own novel. While none of the scenes that follow surpass this episode, there’s abundant suspense. The author offers tense, rewarding perspectives, including from the hijacker, some of the terrorists, and Amy Edwards, the courageous flight attendant and Randy’s romantic interest. But stealing the show is Suresh Mehta, a British citizen in Mumbai wrongfully convicted of murder; it’s quite some time before this enigmatic character joins the main plot in a surprising and crucial turn. Periodic action sequences also shine, from the bullet-riddled kidnapping to one person’s narrowly surviving a massive explosion.

An edgy, often exhilarating tale of vicious villains and everyday heroes.