Hot Start — David Freed

A notorious, international big game hunter and his beautiful, former flight attendant wife are gunned down at long range late one sweltering summer night while swimming naked on their seaside estate in opulent Rancho Bonita, California. Police investigators are convinced that the killer is a strident, outspoken animal rights activist with both military experience and a criminal record. The evidence against him would appear overwhelming--until rumors begin to surface that others may have had their own reasons for committing murder.

The last thing flight instructor, aspiring Buddhist, and ex-government assassin Cordell Logan wants to do is become involved in the investigation. He and the accused, however, have mutual friends. Reluctant at first, Logan finds himself caught up in an increasingly confounding enigma, one that swirls around a popular Congressman with close ties to the White House, a European call girl ring, and a ruthless Czech crime boss who'll stop at nothing to protect his interests. Pursuing the truth will take Logan to places few others would dare go, exposing him to dangers that even he may not survive.

Along with its four predecessors in the Cordell Logan mystery/thriller series--Flat Spin, Fangs Out, Voodoo Ridge, and The Three-Nine Line--Hot Start is a can't-put-it-down page-turner that will leave audiences breathless. Critics from Booklist to Publisher's Weekly to the Associated Press have hailed the series for its veracity and fine writing, vivid characters, generous dollops of humor, and the kind of pacing that keeps readers up at night.

Hot Start may well be the best yet.