The Blue Zone

March 5, 2007
Having coauthored five bestsellers with James Patterson (Lifeguard
, etc.), Gross makes a solo debut superior to his collaborative efforts, if short of the first thriller rank. His engaging heroine, Kate Raab, a medical researcher in the Bronx, is shocked when the Feds arrest her beloved gold trader father, Benjamin, and charge him with laundering money for a Colombian drug cartel. A hit team's attempt to kill the entire Raab family prompts all of them, except Kate, to start their lives anew in the witness protection program. Kate's choice, predictably, places her in continuing danger, even as she begins to suspect that her father's involvement with the narco traffickers was more deliberate and extensive than he's willing to admit. The secret revelations at the heart of the plot may strike some as a little far-fetched, and the details about the witness protection program fail to convince, but Gross shows sufficient talent for readers to want to see more from his pen alone.

March 15, 2007
After coauthoring five thrillers with James Patterson (most recently, Judge & Jury ), Gross makes his solo fiction debut with a case involving the Witness Protection Program. When the head of the Mercado drug cartel dies in Colombia, a long-simmering family feud reaches the boiling point in the United States. New York family man Benjamin Raab, a trader in gold, is arrested by the FBI and accused of being a middleman for the cartel. After he agrees to testify against a friend, he and his familywith the exception of his oldest daughter, Kateare relocated by the government. When Benjamin suddenly flees the safety of the program and is blamed for the murder of his government contact, Kate wants to know who set him up and why. Was everything she knew about her father a lie? As her search for answers intensifies, she finds herself caught in a web of deception and betrayal, with her own life on the line. Gross offers much that will please: an intriguing premise, shocking twists, a gripping plot, and a sympathetic female lead who faces heartrending dilemmas as she grapples with the truth. Highly recommended for popular fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 1/07.]Ron Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson

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