A line in the sand

In this uneven but eminently readable crime thriller from Powers (The Yellow Birds), Norfolk, Va., detective Catherine Wheel is called in to investigate after Iraq war interpreter-turned-janitor Arman Bajalan discovers a dead body during an early-morning ocean swim. Catherine and her partner soon learn that Arman knew the victim during his time in Iraq, and is in the U.S. to seek refuge from a group that has already killed the rest of his family. As more bodies pile up and the investigation leads Wheel to a local journalist, the detective makes it her mission to protect Arman, who it appears might be the ultimate target. Powers generates a satisfying sense of suspense, and his strength lies in drawing fully realized characters, from the protagonists down to the support players. The prose, though, varies, ranging from refined to purple and unnatural ("Salus populi suprema lex esto," proclaims one character, conveniently recalling a slice of high school Latin). Still, this is an enjoyable outing that will have readers hoping for future Wheel adventures. Agent: Peter Straus, RCW Literary. (May)

A taut thriller linking war crimes, politics, and police work. Powers returns to the subject of war and its collateral damage that he first studied in The Yellow Birds (2012), an acclaimed debut published after his own Army service in Iraq. A Shout in the Ruins (2018) followed fallout from the Civil War and slavery. In the new book, the pivotal character is Arman Bajalan, a refugee from Iraq living in the U.S., who worked as an interpreter for the American military in Mosul in 2004. He finds a dead man in a suit lying on a Norfolk, Virginia, beach. He carries no ID, and the labels are missing from his clothes. The police team is led by the oddly named Det. Catherine Wheel. A second narrative line concerns journalist Sally Ewell, whose brother was killed in Iraq and whose current reporting centers on Decision Tree, a private military contractor on the verge of a $2 billion government deal if it can get past a congressional investigation of its roles in Iraq and Afghanistan. The two narratives intersect through Bajalan, who filmed a massacre of unarmed Iraqi university students by Decision Tree operatives. A week later an assassination attempt killed Bajalan's wife and child and had him seeking a U.S. immigrant visa. It soon becomes clear that he's still a target. Powers has a strong female character in Det. Wheel--a cool professional mercifully free of the dire flaws with which thriller writers tend to baste their lead cops. A couple of older civilians familiar with guns come in handy when the mercenaries visit. Powers has a clearly negative message about military contractors and the business of war, starting with the epigraph ("War is a racket..."), but there's a moral ambivalence to the novel's resolution that should spark debate. Masterful in its structure and pacing; a great read. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.