A MATTER OF CIRCUMSTANCE

Cover’s sequel novel finds Dr. Thomas Simpson, the director of communications for Sessions University, in treacherous political waters as a campus lab produces a possible cure for cancer.

Provost Samuel Kravitz died by suicide, and his family hired the Blaylock Agency to investigate why a “man of consummate ego” would do such a thing. Newly installed university president Jack Wentz warns Thomas that he’ll soon be interviewed by a detective, and he worries that he’ll inadvertently reveal what he knows of a plan to place spies in Sessions’ international centers. Better news comes from Zoltan Vastag, a Sessions cancer researcher and Thomas’ best friend, who’s apparently succeeding in treating cancer in mice. This results in “pharmaceutical companies...falling all over themselves to get into bed” with the university. Frank Lusby, Thomas and Zoltan’s colleague, suspects that Jack will spin this development to enrich himself. At home, Thomas notes that things are unsettlingly quiet now that his teenage daughter, Sarah, is attending the Sessions Center for Gifted and Talented Youth. Also, his son, Tommie, who has Asperger syndrome, has turned his obsessive nature from firetrucks to computers. Pleasantly complicating things is Alicia McDonald, the striking detective assigned to interview Thomas. Cover adds a fresh murder, a coverup, and a packet of scandalous photos to amp up his second Sessions University thriller. The well-drawn characters, however, frequently steal the show, including Zoltan, who’s like an uncle to Sarah and Tommie, and billionaire Mark Berger, whose Boston accent (“Howaryah?”) entertains as often as it grates. The author gleefully has Alicia and charming reporter Emily Sayzak go after Thomas as if he were the last man on Earth; however, Thomas, especially at home, often experiences a sense of loss that resonates: “The family room was empty. My daily reminder of Sarah’s new maturity. Why did she have to grow up?” Overall, such domestic scenes feel truer and more engaging than the thriller plot.

A fun thriller with compelling strains of personal drama.