In a sequel to While Justice Sleeps (2021), Abrams gives Supreme Court law clerk--turned-- reluctant sleuth Avery Keene another deadly conspiracy to unravel. Last time out, Keene, a Black woman in her late 20s who worked for loose cannon Justice Howard Wynn, who's White, used damaging information he had gathered before falling into a coma to help force the semi-Trump-ish President Brandon Stokes (a reviled authoritarian wannabe but one with a deep intellect) at least temporarily out of office, as his Cabinet used the 25th Amendment to sideline him. Now, on the eve of Stokes' impeachment trial, Keene stumbles on what turns out to be a revenge plot to crash the nation's power grid. Before being shot to death for his efforts, a young law clerk desperately passes her privileged information about factors leading to the suicide of his boss, a federal judge in Idaho. The judge's death has great significance because she was one of the members of the powerful United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, whose duties include monitoring national security. Several of its 11 judges had connections to energy companies and exhibited "nonconforming judicial behaviors." A persona non grata in Washington "who'd roiled a presidency," Keene finds the going tough, not to mention dangerous. The plot features murderous government officials and an ex-Mossad assassin known as Nyx. While carefully and sometimes cleverly plotted, the novel never really gains momentum. Abrams fails to make the grid conspiracy very threatening, and the story is slowed by awkward writing: "Rage. Grief. Betrayal. Vengeance. Any of these had been known to drive good people to extremes, yet the combination of this tragic quartet manifested in a plot that boggled the mind." And how jaded have we become that an impeachment is mere background noise? A competent but only moderately suspenseful thriller. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Former Georgia representative Abrams parlays her political knowledge into a complex and highly entertaining thriller in this second pacey adventure featuring 27-year-old D.C. law clerk Avery Keene (after 2021's While Justice Sleeps). The action picks up after Avery's testimony regarding the impeachment of President Brandon Stokes has made her a target for the beleaguered politician's conservative allies. At a judicial conference, she's approached by Preston Davies, a career clerk for a recently deceased federal judge, who tells Avery that his boss was being blackmailed with a deepfake video, which drove her to suicide. Minutes later, Preston himself is assassinated before Avery's eyes. Soon, Avery is pulled into a vast, opaque terrorist plot, with no sense of who might be behind it or where it may be leading. Her only clue is a list of the members of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, each of whom may be next in line for elimination. The plot races along, stuffed with genuinely surprising twists, and the scenes set in the Senate chamber and Oval Office have a ring of authenticity often lacking in similar genre fare. Political junkies and thriller fans alike will eagerly anticipate the next installment. Linda Lowenthal, Lowenthal Company. (May)

Plucky, indefatigable Supreme Court clerk Avery Keene, first met in While Justice Sleeps (2021), is back, and none too soon, as a disaster beyond our wildest imagination is about to be unleashed. Despite Avery's exposure of his corruption, President Brandon Stokes is back in power and intent on shredding her reputation. While laying low at a judicial conference, Avery is handed a mysterious file and burner phone by a troubled FISA Court clerk who has a tragically short lifespan. Soon Avery is feverishly decoding a conspiracy involving judges on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and finds herself battling Stokes, the FBI, and the NSA to uncover a deadly plot to wreak revenge at the highest levels of U.S. government. Once again, Avery relies on her backup band of steely-eyed FBI agent Robert Lee, hunky cybersecurity expert Jared Wynn, and loyal roommate Ling Yin as she dodges international assassins, cryptocurrency hackers, and politicians with a forest full of axes to grind. The string of highpowered agencies and technobabble grow baffling, yet Abrams' appealing characters ground this frenetic thriller in wry humor and heart.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Fans are waiting for the second Avery Keene thriller from the multitalented, high-profile Abrams.