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Lynne Heitman is the author of the Alex Shanahan novels First Class Killing (available from Pocket Books); Tarmac, named by Publishers Weekly as one of the most notable thrillers of 2002; and Hard Landing. She grew up in Dallas, where she spent one year as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, and earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees at Southern Methodist University. She was a financial analyst for American Airlines and general manager of operations at Logan Airport. She currently lives in Boston, where she is a full-time novelist.

Visit her website at www.lynneheitman.com.

Years after she dumped him for a younger man, the scheming ex-wife of Alex's partner, Harvey Baltimore, returns for an unexpected visit. While Alex tries to figure out why Rachel is back, another mystery begins to unfold halfway around the world. Four years after a bloody, high-profile airline hijacking, personal effects belonging to the victims are found in a terrorist safe house. The discovery of this chilling time capsule triggers a chain reaction that leads straight back to Rachel. By the time Alex has untangled Rachel's lies, she will be on the run from the Russian Mafia, caught in the web of a global vigilante group, and forced to take a reluctant trip into her partner's past — where she will find the key to solving the mystery, but also learn painful lessons about holding on, letting go, and why some keys should never be used.

Publishers Weekly

Heitman's fourth series title is another fast-paced thriller that casts a wide net, pulling together a cold hijacking case, east European mobsters, private military firms, dot-com business fraud and divorc e angst into a world-spanning plot-and it's up to airline manager-cum-PI Alex Shanahan to hold it all together. Alex's latest case, a simple salvage job, comes from Rachel Ruffielo, ex-wife of her partner, Harvey Baltimore, who walked out on him after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Suspicious of Rachel's motives and her hold over Harvey, Alex reluctantly agrees. Her misgivings are confirmed when she returns from the job to find not only that Harvey's disappeared but he's also being pursued by FBI agents investigating a multimillion-dollar embezzlement scandal. As Alex picks up Harvey's trail, she delves into his and Rachel's history, leading to a bloody airline hijacking four years earlier and a missing laptop computer worth over a billion dollars. Heitman has created a complex, human heroine in Alex-smart, heroic and loyal, but no superwoman-and strong supporting characters to match. Although the story line is, at times, over the top, Alex's voice keeps the proceedings grounded as Heitman ratchets up the suspense, bringing the whole shebang to a taut, satisfying conclusion. (Mar.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.