The Far Side of the Desert

March 25, 2024
Two sisters are separated by a Spanish terrorist attack in the clichéd latest from Leedom-Ackerman (Burning Distance). In 2007, Samantha and Monte Waters head to Spain to meet their brother, Cal, and take his mind off his impending divorce. All three siblings are workaholics: Samantha is a well-respected news correspondent, Monte a U.S. State Department employee (like their parents), and Cal a magazine journalist. Samantha and Monte’s hopes for some downtime are dashed when a series of explosions occur outside of their Galician hotel. In the ensuing chaos, Monte seeks shelter with a man who identifies himself as a security guard. In reality, he’s working with the group who detonated the bombs, and Monte is taken captive by an extremist organization helmed by a shadowy leader known as “the Elder.” Samantha escapes the attacks and enlists the rest of their family to find Monte, drawing on her parents’ State Department contacts. The action ping-pongs between the Waters’ frantic rescue efforts and Monte’s increasingly dire captivity, but there are few surprises, and little to distinguish this from heaps of similar thrillers. It’s a letdown. Agent: Anne-Lise Spitzer, Philip G. Spitzer Literary.