A former speechwriter for George H.W. Bush, Coes snared thriller readers with his tough and bloody Power Down. Here, Power protagonist Dewey Andreas is asked to stage a coup that will unseat the new Pakistani president, an extremist cleric. So what else is new? For all slam-bang lovers.

Coes's exciting sequel to Power Down explores an all-too-plausible conflict in Asia. A radical cleric, in one of his first actions as Pakistan's new president, drops a nuclear bomb on India, its giant neighbor and rival. American leaders fear a domino scenario that could pit the U.S. against China militarily. Series hero Dewey Andreas, a former Delta Force officer who's been lying low in Australia, receives the call to assemble a small team of specialists and use whatever means necessary to get rid of the Pakistani president and install the U.S.'s handpicked successor—all within 48 hours. As India itches to retaliate with its own nukes, Andreas must find a way to worm his way into the halls of Pakistani power while also warding off a well-funded terrorist group run by a Syrian financier devoted to violent Islamic revolt. Though too predictable at points, the plot sizzles with action, and the details have an authentic ring that put this thriller a cut above the pack. (Oct.)