The Domino Pattern (Frank Compton Series #4) »

TIMOTHY ZAHN is the Hugo Award–winning author of more than thirty SF novels, including Night Train to Rigel, The Third Lynx, Odd Girl Out, and the Dragonback sextet. He has also written Star Wars® novels, including the recent Allegiance. He lives in coastal Oregon.

Frank Compton used to be an agent for the security forces of Earth, but that was a piece of cake compared to what he’s had to deal with working for the aliens who run the Quadrail, an interstellar transportation system connecting a dozen civilizations across the galaxy.

He’s been trying to end the domination of an alien lifeform called the Modhri. This enormously powerful creature wants to rule the galaxy by controlling the thoughts of all its citizens. It does so by having parts of itself “infect” others on contact, and act as agents for it without them being aware they’re being manipulated. When Frank and his assistant Bayta journey to investigate a connection between the Modhri and the Filiaelians, they come up against a conspiracy on the Quadrail.

Passengers are being murdered…but something besides murder haunts the Quadrail. A plot is brewing that even the Modhri fears. And once again, Frank and Bayta may be the only ones who can stop it.

Library Journal

A former security agent for Earth, Frank Compton and his partner, Bayta, now work for the aliens controlling the intergalactic Quadrail transportation system connecting a dozen civilizations across space. Their biggest enemy, the group mind known as Modhri, seeks to control the thoughts of the galaxy's citizens and set up its own rule. When passengers begin dying aboard the Quadrail, Compton attempts to discover if Modhri—or some even darker force—is responsible. VERDICT Paying tribute to such classic detective stories as Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, the prolific Hugo Award-winning author (Night Train to Rigel) continually improves his skills as both a storyteller and a detailer of character. His latest sf mystery should appeal to fans of both genres.