Missing Man. This item is unavailable.Missing Man

When a veteran astronaut mysteriously dies during a routine training flight, survivor Mark Koskinen, a rookie astronaut, finds himself embroiled in a deadly conspiracy that high-ranking NASA officials will do anything to keep hidden. 10,000 first printing.

As this exciting action thriller begins, Astronaut candidate Mark Koskinen manages to survive when a training aircraft crashes, killing chief NASA astronaut Joseph Buerhle, under what seem to Mark suspicious circumstances. Trying to complete his requirements as an astronaut-in-training while quietly investigating Buerhle's death, Mark becomes linked with the dead man's lover, astronaut Kelly Gessner, veteran of several shuttle missions. The plot gains momentum as Mark and Kelly set out on board the shuttle to capture a rogue astronaut. NASA is rarely used as background for thrillers; here the detailed description of training, equipment and maneuvers, plus the invocation of the ecstasy of sailing far above planet Earth, gives an invigorating twist to the suspenseful plot. Most impressive, however, is the poignant description of life as a second-generation hero. The original astronauts are old or dead, and the rest of the country is back to business as usual?only the few dedicated space-hunters like Mark can tolerate the politics and pain that must be endured in order to gain the opportunity to fly weightlessly in space. TV writer Cassutt (who coauthored Deke!, the memoir of astronaut Deke Slayton) delivers a winner for lovers of aerospace, action or suspense fiction. Editor, Beth Meacham; agent, Richard Curtis.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

TV writer turned novelist Cassutt's earlier collaboration on the well-received autobiography Deke (1994), about original Mercury astronaut Deke Slayton, apparently allowed him a clear view into some dark NASA corners. The result is this fine technothriller, named for the aerial formation flown at military funerals. An astronaut-in-training--called an ASCAN--gets to fly with a legendary NASA veteran. So far so good, thinks trainee Mark Koskinen. Then the senior pilot begins acting strangely, one of their twin engines fails, and Mark is ordered to eject. He does and survives. The veteran rides the crippled bird into the sea and dies. Was it an accident or murder? There are two more deaths before the question is answered. But, as Koskinen quickly discovers, the brass does not really want to know and one cover-up quickly leads to another. Along with the answers, Koskinen finds love on the ground and heart-stopping drama during a deadly space walk. Readers learn a lot about space--including the fact that what goes up does not always come down. Budd Arthur