Burn Zone by James O. Born

From the Publisher

ATF agent Alex Duarte is in New Orleans on the trail of a gun runner—only to find himself embroiled in a conspiracy involving people linked to some of the highest offices of the United States government.

Publishers Weekly

ATF agent Alex Duarte, who debuted in Born's Field of Fire(2007), remains a man of action but, alas, little else, in his second outing, an otherwise snappy, well-plotted crime drama set in Panama and New Orleans. Duarte and several other federal agents are trying to track down a drug lord known only as Mr. Ortíz, a shadowy Panamanian suspected of shipping tons of marijuana to the U.S. In reality, Ortíz is exporting something far more dangerous: a nuclear bomb. Born, himself a state police officer in Florida, offers the kind of real-life detail one would expect from a law enforcement professional. His previous series, which featured Florida cop Bill Tasker (Walking Money, etc.), stood out from the pack largely because of the layered persona of his protagonist. In contrast, Duarte has the requisite toughness, but aside from being a man of few words-particularly around the ladies-his character has few distinguishing features. Hopefully, Born will make his hero more a leading man than a background player in subsequent adventures. (Feb.)

Library Journal

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) agent Alex Duarte, first introduced in Field of Fire , is taking his lumps both personally and professionally when he handles a routine assignment to bring down a drug dealer. The capture of this minor player creates a domino effect that sends Duarte and his partner to New Orleans to chase the distributor of the drugs and illegal firearms. Their target turns out to be a bigger fish than they realize, though, and they are led to a vast conspiracy that threatens millions of lives. Born is a former U.S. drug agent, and his experiences lend a realism to the narrative that puts it a notch above the rest of the crime thriller pack. Toss in some surprising twists and a strong protagonist, and you have a thriller writer on the verge of breaking out to the big time. Fans of Michael Connelly might want to check this out. For all fiction collections.-Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.

Kirkus Reviews

ATF Special Agent Alex Duarte thinks he's chasing Panamanian pot-if only it were that simple. Convinced that the small-time druggie he has in custody can be a link to big-time druggies, Duarte is working him hard. He's right, of course, and soon enough bottom-feeder Byron Gastlin gives up his Panamanian supplier, wicked Mr. Ort'z, whose capacity for sadistic cruelty has its roots in 19th-century melodrama, and whose grudge against the United States has been festering ever since the 1989 Panamanian invasion. Mr. Ort'z is the kingpin of a flourishing drug business, but as Duarte will learn, that operation is merely a means to an end. Like Snidely Whiplash and James Bond's antagonists, Mr. Ort'z wants revenge, and now, at last, he has access to the means to turn his personal vengeance into Armageddon. Mr. Ort'z is as slippery as he is black-hearted. For a while, he fools Duarte into thinking he's an ally and leads him down diverse garden paths and blind alleys. But few can be proof against a combination of Rambo and Dudley Do-Right, and once again Duarte gets his man, nips a conspiracy in the bud and earns the thanks of a grateful nation. Comic-strip villains and a protagonist whose habits have ossified into routine are formidable hurdles even for a storyteller as talented as Born (Field of Fire, 2007, etc.).

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