Zero Separation

January 7, 2013
At the start of Donlay’s tepid third thriller (after 2011’s Code Black), Donovan Nash and copilot Michael Ross run into a storm over Florida that forces them to land their plane in Boca Raton. On the ground, their discovery of the theft of a Gulfstream V threatens to unloose a host of secrets and demons. Only a handful of people know that Nash is really despised oilman Robert Huntington, believed by most to be responsible for the death of beloved environmental conservationist Meredith Barnes. After faking his own death nearly 20 years earlier, Huntington re-invented himself as Nash, the power behind Eco-Watch, a nonprofit research company. But FBI agent Veronica Montero stumbles onto the truth and blackmails Nash into helping her avenge her partner’s murder. That task leads the pair into a confrontation with a terrorist intent on unleashing a catastrophic attack on the U.S. that could kill millions. Too many stock characters and a melodramatic ending won’t win many admirers.

February 1, 2013
Donlay's third novel rivets the reader from the first page and doesn't let up until the shocking end. Donovan Nash witnesses the theft of an executive jet and immediately finds himself accused of helping the villains get away. Ruthless FBI agent Veronica Montero digs into Nash's past and discovers a secret that would destroy Nash and his family. Rather than blow the whistle, Montero decides to blackmail Nash as a way of getting his assistance in solving the case. What appears to be a simple theft conceals a terrorist threat that could kill millions, and the man behind the plot has ties to Nash's past. Fans of political thrillers and military fiction, especially those dealing with the aerospace industry, will devour this one. Without a doubt, Donlay's best to date.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)