Only to Die Again by Patrick Lee
The problem with Patrick Lee books is that it's very difficult to say a lot about them without giving too much away. All of them are Lee Child-style thrillers set in the present day, the big difference being that each revolves around a science fiction idea.
Only to Die Again is the second book about his character Sam Dryden, an ex-military type whose past is shrouded in mystery. It begins with FBI again Marnie Calvert arriving at the scene of a terrible crime in the middle of the Mojave desert, where four girls' bodies are found. The girls had been held prisoner for three years in a cage in a mobile home which has now burned to the ground. The man who owned the place is nowhere to be found.
Then the story zips back two hours in time. Sam Dryden receives a panicked call from ex-colleague Claire Dunham, who asks him to meet her . . . in the Mojave Desert . . . where they save the four girls and kill their captor.
What? How? Why? Well, that would spoil everything
I can say that it made my head hurt in places. The central idea is a tricky one to pull off, to make it coherent and convincing, and to do it without leaving gaping plot holes. I thought Lee just about managed the former but failed somewhat in the latter. What he does do - as usual - is have a lot of fun with his 'big idea'. It's another story that moves along at a phenomenal pace. The pages fly by, and the plot holes fade into the background as you get completely caught up in the tension and excitement.
Unfortunately he stumbles badly at the end. I'm not sure whether he couldn't come up with a good and proper way to get the characters out of their predicament and end the story, or if he was up against a deadline, but the ending is horribly, unforgivably rushed. The story doesn't so much end as just stop. It's an unfulfilling conclusion to an otherwise hugely enjoyable adventure.
It's nowhere near as good as the phenomenal Runner, or the brilliant Breach trilogy. Sadly, that means it's his weakest novel so far.