The third Brad Miller-Dana Cutler thriller is the weakest. Other than the story, which involves a terrorist plot to blow up an NFL stadium and the escape from prison of Clarence Little, the serial killer featured in Executive Privilege (2008), there's nothing new here. The problem rests with the lead characters, attorney Miller and investigator Cutler. Each novel in a series should expand on its stars. But apart from a few perfunctory stabs at developing them, Margolin recycles the same bland characteristics he used in the past. And not only them; even the unrelentingly evil Little lacks the spark of a marquee villain. This is unusual from a writer whose earlier novels, such as The Last Innocent Man (1981) and The Burning Man (1996), were built on solidly designed, abundantly real human characters. Margolin is an undeniably talented plotsmith, though, and loyal readers will likely overlook the thin characters and focus on the story, which is genuinely engaging. But loyalty will only get you so far, and Miller and Cutler are bound to start losing more readers than they attract.--Pitt, David Copyright 2010 Booklist

PI Dana Cutler and attorney Brad Miller, now working as a congressional legal aide, contend with sex scandals, an escaped murderer, and a looming major terrorist attack on U.S. soil in bestseller Margolin's busy third Washington, D.C., thriller (after 2010's Supreme Justice). Cutler is dispatched to Portland, Ore., where Miller's boss, Sen. Jack Carson, has gotten involved with a Middle Eastern seductress, Jessica Koshani, who possesses a DVD showing Carson in a compromising position. Koshani blackmails Carson into returning to D.C., where he's to report to her on what the authorities know about a suicide bombing her employers are plotting. Meanwhile, Miller must keep track of Clarence Little, a serial killer and former client sent to prison in 2008's Executive Privilege, who's been sending Miller cryptically threatening letters since escaping custody in Oregon. Some readers may struggle with the large cast and many scene shifts, but Margolin manages to pull everything together in the end. Agents: Jean Naggar and Jennifer Weltz, Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Margolin brings back attorney Brad Miller and PI Dana Cutler from Executive Privilege and Supreme Justice and delivers another slam-bang political thriller. Miller hopes his life has finally calmed down. He works for a U.S. Senator and has just married the love of his life. Unfortunately, Miller's boss has a torrid past, and it's about to catch up to him. At the same time, a serial killer on death row escapes and has Miller in his sights. Throw in a terrorist plot and an investigation into the sordid underbelly of Washington politics, and the result is a nonstop read. Verdict Margolin is a master of legal suspense and thrills, but in his latest, character development has taken a backseat, and his pacing suffers a bit as well. With so many story lines demanding equal time, the end result is a bit disjointed. Still, the author's many fans will demand this title. [See Prepub Alert, 10/9/11.]-Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.