Blown (Mathews)

Blown

by Francine Mathews

If you haven’t read Francine Mathews’ previous book, The Cutout, you won’t be able to make any sense out of this book, so be forewarned. However, both books are excellent.
The plot of Blown follows linearly from the end of Cutout: Caroline Carmichael is a CIA analyst whose husband is implicated in the kidnapping and murder of the Vice President by 30 April, a neo-Nazi terrorist group. Carmichael returns to the US– just in time for a series of attacks staged by 30 April in the US. That starts the hunt, involving Carmichael, her husband, and a cast of other characters first introduced in Cutout.
Like Greg Rucka, Mathews’ characters don’t have superhuman powers of deduction, intuition, or physical strength. That doesn’t mean that they’re ordinary in any way, merely that they’re believable. In particular, Caroline Carmichael is a terrific heroine, combining a quick mind and temper (her husband’s nickname for her is “Mad Dog”) with an active interior life and an affecting set of emotional issues (to be expected after your husband comes back from the dead).
Highly recommended, but be sure to read Cutout first (it’s just out in paperback, so this should be easy). Mathews’ forthcoming The Alibi Club is already on my to-read list.