UNDER PRESSURE

A series of stunningly high-casualty bombings in and around New York City drives the FBI once more to consult pattern-sensitive astrophysicist Lucas Page, whose people skills may need work but are still far better than the bomber’s.

The first explosion, at a Guggenheim Museum gala for eco-friendly Horizon Dynamics, destroys a billion dollars’ worth of art and 702 human beings without bringing down the iconic structure. That’s one smart bomb, observes Lucas, who quickly realizes that the weapon was a thermobaric explosion and enlightens Special Agent in Charge Brett Kehoe before the FBI's crack team of investigators armed with endless computing power can do so. A delayed warning letter to a CNN anchor and a rapid succession of later bombings raise urgent questions about whodunit and why. A disconcerting number of the targets seem to be connected to William and Seth Hockney’s fraternal and financial partnership, which had recently purchased Horizon Dynamics. But as far as Lucas and Angela Whitaker, the intuitive FBI agent who worked with him in City of Windows (2019), can tell, the Machine Bomber, as the media dub the perp, seems intent on hurting Hockney Worldwide Enterprises instead of helping it. A violent confrontation that doesn’t happen to include a bomb kills Kehoe’s leading suspect, but Lucas, seriously injured but skeptical as ever, is eager to get back in the hunt even after Kehoe pulls him off it, and his uncanny concentration and tenacity pay off in a gripping denouement.

Nonstop thrills, especially for readers who want one last glimpse of New York’s landmarks before they’re incinerated.