DIVISIBLE MAN

A pilot endowed with self-powered, invisible flight takes on a ruthless conspiracy in this seventh installment of a thriller series.

In his previous outings, 34-year-old pilot Will Stewart has helped thwart several serious crimes by using the special ability he calls “the other thing,” which allows him to vanish and float in the air. He must employ hand-held, battery-operated props, which he keeps tinkering with, to control his direction and velocity. Called in to pick up a passenger for a charter pilot job, Will learns that his client is famed actress Lonnie Penn, who wants to be taken to an isolated South Dakota motel. An anonymous caller has demanded half a million dollars in exchange for the Mexican grandson she didn’t know she had or he’ll be deported. But at the handover, Lonnie is attacked, and there’s no child to be found. Since Will’s wife, Andrea—called Andy—is a police detective, he asks her to investigate. Meanwhile, FBI Deputy Director Mitchell Lindsay invites Will and Andy to a meeting at his island vacation home. He’s in on Will’s secret and wants to discuss how the pilot might help the bureau. But before talks can get under way, Lindsay is assassinated on his way to a separate meeting with Aaron McCauley, a high-powered lawyer whose Washington, D.C., firm represents sketchy clients. One is a group of Russian investors tied to organized crime. They’ve bought out a Mexican cartel, supposedly to shift it to legitimate activities. Another client is “a cabal of ruthless military officers” in democratic Ghana, aiming for control of its gold resources. Will, Andy, and law enforcement allies work to unravel these tangled threads in the United States and across the border, hoping to unmask a conspiracy that aims at the heart of the American judicial branch.

Fans of the series may find that the premise is getting familiar. However fascinating, the details of how Will works with the abilities and limitations of his gift remain much the same from the previous novel. This volume also doesn’t provide any new developments in understanding the source of the other thing, nor does it further explore another facet of Will’s unusual powers: curing children of leukemia. That said, Seaborne is never less than a spellbinding storyteller, keeping his complicated but clearly explicated plot moving smoothly from one nail-biting scenario to another. As the tale goes along, seemingly disparate plotlines begin to satisfyingly connect in ways that will keep readers guessing until the explosive (in more ways than one) action-movie denouement. The author’s grasp of global politics gives depth to the book’s thriller elements, which are nicely balanced by thoughtful characterizations. Even minor characters come across in three dimensions, and Will himself is an endearing narrator. He’s lovestruck by his gorgeous, intelligent, and strong-willed wife; has his heart and social conscience in the right place; and is boyishly thrilled by the other thing.

A solid series entry that is, as usual, exciting, intricately plotted, and thoroughly entertaining.