Between the pandemic affecting most of the country and snow blanketing a good deal of it, it’s understandable that people have decided to stay inside for the duration. May I suggest that you spend at least an evening of that downtime reading Michael Ledwidge’s RUN FOR COVER? It’s escapist literature at its very best.

This is the second installment in the Michael Gannon series, following STOP AT NOTHING, though you don’t have to be familiar with what has gone before to fully enjoy what is happening now. For our purposes, know that Gannon, an individual possessed of a hard-earned lethal set of skills, is wanted by several alphabet soup law enforcement agencies that are laboring under erroneous impressions about him.

"Ledwidge has repeatedly demonstrated his considerable plotting and writing chops on his own, and as a coauthor of 13 books with James Patterson. But here he takes things to a whole new level. Put RUN FOR COVER at the top of your must-read pile."

Gannon is living off the radar in Utah, so much so that RUN FOR COVER starts without him. This worthy work begins in Wyoming, where a game warden has discovered the staged corpse of a woman in a remote area. He calls in law enforcement, which includes a local sheriff and two FBI agents. They have barely gathered when things go suddenly and horribly wrong, resulting in multiple casualties, all on the side of righteousness. Among the dead is the brother of the man who is providing Gannon and his son with shelter. While Gannon must keep his head down, he feels duty-bound to avenge the killer in the most effective and deserving way possible.

He finds himself paired up with Kit Hagen, one of the FBI agents who was at the original scene. It turns out that someone has been systematically killing women at National Park sites throughout the country. Hagen has been investigating the murders and was at the right place at the wrong time. There is more to this wrinkle --- Ledwidge is a master of the plot surprise --- and it isn’t long before Gannon and Hagen find themselves on the trail of an extremely capable killer who is hiding in plain sight.

What is especially interesting is that Hagen is working off the books. She has been ordered off the case, and for the flimsiest of reasons, just as she was beginning to make headway. This is so puzzling to her as she knows more about the series of murders than anyone else. There is an obvious cover-up going on here, and the only question is how far up the chain of command it goes. The answer will give one a nosebleed.

Once Gannon comes to within striking distance of the killer, his associates and their boss, he is more than capable of administering rough justice. However, the opposition has part of the might and majesty of the Federal government behind them, and as matters ultimately play out at a busy airport --- “play out” being code for “all hell breaking loose” --- there is the possibility that Gannon’s justice may be delayed and thus denied. You will stay up all night reading to find out.

Ledwidge has repeatedly demonstrated his considerable plotting and writing chops on his own, and as a coauthor of 13 books with James Patterson. But here he takes things to a whole new level. Put RUN FOR COVER at the top of your must-read pile.