At the start of Patrick Lee's Signal, an FBI agent arrives at a burned-out trailer in the Mojave Desert to find the charred bodies of four little girls in a cage.
Cut to four hours earlier, when Sam Dryden, the returning hero from Patrick Lee's Runner, is asked by a former black ops colleague to accompany her on a rush mission that commences immediately. Dryden says yes without knowing any details, other than that Claire wouldn't ask unless it was urgent.
The mission involves heading to the Mojave to save girls imprisoned in a trailer. The children disappeared years earlier without a trace but Claire suddenly knows exactly where to find them. When the mission is over, Claire explains how she knew, blowing Dryden's mind, and likely the reader's.
Claire and Dryden then find themselves hunted by a mysterious syndicate called the Group, which will kill to obtain the invention Claire used to track down the girls. The Group wants the device for an endgame that would have devastating global repercussions.
Like Runner, Signal maintains a blistering pace, but Dryden does slow down at times to watch and analyze situations before taking action. In these scenes, he resembles the creation of another author named Lee--Lee Child, that is. Dryden is like a younger Jack Reacher but his adventures have a sci-fi twist. The science can become a bit mind-bending but seems realistic and doesn't get in the plot's way. Fans of smart thrillers should tune in to this strong Signal. --Elyse Dinh-McCrillis, blogger at Pop Culture Nerd