Typhoon (White)

Typhoon is ty-riffic; it’s the kind of book that Tom Clancy used to write before he began having delusions of self-importance. Basic ingredients: the Russians are selling a Typhoon SSBN to the Chinese. Unfortunately, there are two minor problems: a) the Typhoon has all of its ICBMs aboard and b) the US has already paid Russia to scrap it. This obviously requires that the Typhoon be handed over without detection by the US, and that’s where the crew of the USS Portland comes in. Of course, the captain turns out to be crazy, and the presence of a female Navy linguist doesn’t help matters much. Tense, realistic, and fast-paced. You might be better off to wait for the paperback, though, as this is a quick read.