Gross,
Andrew. The Blue Zone. Morrow. May 2007. c352p. ISBN
978-0-06-114340-3. $25.95. Fiction.
After coauthoring five thrillers
with James Patterson (most recently, Judge & Jury),
Gross makes his solo fiction debut with a case involving
the Witness Protection Program. When the head of the Mercado
drug cartel dies in Columbia, a long-simmering family feud
reaches the boiling pointin the United States. New York
family man Benjamin Raab, a trader in gold, is arrested by
the FBI and accused of being a middleman for the cartel. After
he agrees to testify against a friend, he
and his family—with the exception of his oldest daughter,
Kate—are relocated by the government. When Benjamin suddenly
flees the safety of the program and is blamed for the murder
of his government contact, Kate wants to know who set him up
and why. Was everything she knew about her father a lie? As
her search for answers intensifies, she finds herself caught
in a web of deception and betrayal, with her own life on the
line. Gross offers much that will please: an intriguing premise,
shocking twists, a gripping plot, and a
sympathetic female lead who faces heartrending dilemmas as
she grapples with the truth. Highly recommended for popular
fiction collections.