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With several successful mystery series going at once -- the most popular featuring jet-setting cop-turned-lawyer Stone Barrington -- Stuart Woods more than manages to keep focused on a bestselling streak that shows no signs of slowing down.

Ex-DEA agent Jesse Warden has seen enough of the inside of a solitary confinement cell to last him a lifetime. Or two lifetimes, which is the sentence he's serving after being convicted of a plan he was planning to commit, but never did. So when an old buddy shows up with a deal that could spring him from his hell behind bars, he's ready to listen.

To gain his freedom, Jesse must infiltrate a dangerous and reclusive religious cult that has been stockpiling weapons and eliminating those sent to investigate. From the moment he arrives in the Idaho mountain town where the cult is centered, Jesse finds every aspect of life dictated by the group's eerie, imposing leader. Pitted against not only the cult, but also the feds who sent him, Jesse feels control of his own life slipping away, and must make a final,desperate attempt to regain it — or die trying.

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Woods' books, while often flawed, are always popular--witness the recent success of "L.A. Times" , "Dead Eyes" , and "Santa Fe Rules" (1992). This one, though, may deserve its likely bestsellerdom more than any of its predecessors. The mile-a-minute plot is clearly modeled on the Branch Davidian disaster, with Aryan Universe leader Jack Gene Coldwater playing the role of David Koresh and exerting control over a band of followers in Idaho. Enter Jesse Warden, former federal agent convicted of stealing confiscated drug money and killing his partner. Jesse is in prison for a good long stretch unless he's willing to do a deal with the government: a presidential pardon in return for infiltrating the cult and providing enough evidence to send Coldwater and his lieutenants to prison for life. Despite a few momentary lapses into banal predictability, Woods has concocted a high-octane story filled with nail-biting suspense and enough unusual twists to keep even experienced puzzle-solvers guessing. Buy plenty of copies--this one is as commercial as they come.