Midnight Runner

British agent Sean Dillon returns in a sequel to 2001's Edge of Danger, in which author Jack Higgins, a consistently solid thriller writer, introduced the intriguing and powerful Arab/English Rashid family. Kate, the only Rashid left after an assassination attempt on the American president foiled by Dillon, has sworn to avenge her family and will do anything to humiliate the United States, including sabotage her own oil fields to cripple America's--and the world's--oil supplies.

The fast-paced action starts with the death of a presidential envoy's daughter and ends with an explosive showdown in the Rashid oil fields. Higgins makes the most of a somewhat thin plot with superb pacing and terrific action sequences. From Dillon's earlier adventures, he brings back Harry and Billy Salter, the agent's "reasonably but not totally respectable" gangster pals; White House operative Blake Johnson; and Sean's boss, General Ferguson. The new characters include a Vietnam war hero who's a roving troubleshooter for President Jake Cazalet, and another villainous Rashid, Kate's American cousin Chauncey. And while Kate seems to be down for the count at the end of this adventure, Dillon and his fans may not have seen the last of her yet. --Jane Adams