Jim DeFelice is known for his military thrillers, especially in collaboration with bestselling authors like Stephen Coonts (the Deep Black series) and Larry Bond (the Red Dragon Rising series). He goes solo in The Helios Conspiracy, telling the tale of an experimental satellite launch for a clean energy initiative gone wrong and the resulting investigation into the sabotage.
FBI agent Andy Fisher (first seen in 2003's Cyclops One) is not easy to work with. He gives his supervisors endless trouble with his disregard for the rules, does not suffer fools gladly and has a penchant for cigarettes and bad diner coffee with a side of greasy fries (with gravy). The real problem, though, is that he is fantastic at his job--seemingly wild hunches and tangential investigations prove correct again and again. This time, it's a former lover of Andy who is murdered. She was the financial wizard behind the company launching a satellite to gather the sun’s energy and beam it to Earth via microwave transmission. The launch rocket explodes, a heavy-handed energy trader is implicated, the Chinese government sends some shady characters to clean things up, and soon everyone is gunning for Andy and the lead scientist on the project, Andy's old college friend (and potential new paramour).
DeFelice's plot rockets along, keeping reader interest throughout. The real find in The Helios Conspiracy, though, is the character of Andy Fisher: he's foul mouthed, standoffish, sarcastic and damn good at what he does, but without any arrogance to ruin it. Fisher's one-liners and quips fill the pages as readers follow each new wrinkle in the case, as well as playing a welcome counterpoint to the seriousness of the story. --Rob LeFebvre, freelance writer and editor