Burn Factor - Hardcover

Mills, Kyle

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060193344 ISBN 13: 9780060193348

Publisher: Harper, 2001

Synopsis

Bestselling novelist Kyle Mills took the nation by storm with his stunning debut thriller, Rising Phoenix, a powerful tale of intrigue and suspense that introduced maverick FBI agent Mark Beamon. Frederick Forsyth raved, "In the world of political thrillers, I have the feeling that young Kyle Mills will soon be a very big player." Now Kyle Mills returns with his most riveting story yet, an edge-of-the-seat drama featuring a new star -- female FBI employee Quinn Barry.

Bright, young, and ambitious, Quinn Barry desperately wants to be an FBI agent. Right now, though, she's just a low-level employee toiling in the basement at Quantico. But Quinn's career -- and her life -- are about to change wildly. Testing her new database program, Quinn turns up a mysterious DNA link among five gruesome murders. A link that the old FBI computer system had been carefully programmed to miss. The discovery lands her a demotion to the hinterlands, followed by a series of unfortunate "accidents" that nearly end her life.

Pitted against a conspiracy of unimaginable proportions, Quinn is determined to uncover what someone very powerful wants to keep hidden -- dark, dirty secrets involving high levels of government. She turns for help to her boyfriend, an ambitious young CIA agent, only to flee to protect herself and, she hopes, him. Finally an ally emerges from teh most unlikely place of all, and with his help Quinn will at last turn the tables on her shadowy assailants -- and land herself in the clutches of a sadistic, brilliant madman who holds the key to it all.

Bristling with the galvanizing suspense and hair-trigger action that Kyle Mills's fans have come to expect, Burn Factor is certain to carve another notch in bestseller lists nationwide.

About this title

About the Author

Kyle Mills is the author of Sphere of Influence, Burn Factor, Free Fall, Storming Heaven, and Rising Phoenix.

Reviews

An FBI computer programmer with no law enforcement training leads her own wildcat search for a serial murderer, stumbling across a secret government plot in the process, in this outlandish thriller by an author capable of much better. While still settling in to her new job at the FBI, computer jockey and aspiring agent Quinn Barry discovers what appears to be a serial killer case that nobody's investigating. When she brings it to the attention of her boss, Barry is not only ignored but demoted. As a result, the quick-tempered, impulsive 26-year-old decides to investigate on her own. Her first move: venturing alone at night to the remote home of sinister Eric Twain, a suspect in one of the killings. Barry, still suspicious of Twain, nonetheless teams up with him to track down the killer, who tortures young women who fit a certain physical profile not surprisingly, Barry matches it before raping and killing them. Along the way, Barry becomes adept at all sorts of investigative techniques. She cuts glass to get into homes, theorizes about the psychology of mass murder and fights off several attackers before discovering that the case may be rooted in a highly classified government nuclear defense program. Mills has written several smart, classically conceived thrillers (Rising Phoenix; Free Fall) starring the always fascinating Mark Beamon, a disgraced FBI agent trying to fight his way back into the bureau's good graces. With his latest, Mills has created a main character who strains credibility from the start and a brittle plot that eventually drifts into a tedious chronicle of sexual sadism. (Apr.)Forecast: One misstep won't derail Mills's promising career, particularly since HarperCollins is backing this book with a five-city author tour, national advertising and lavish promotion plans, plus simultaneous abridged and unabridged audio versions, as well as a large-print edition. But expect a loss of momentum once early readers report back on this disappointing effort.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

As he has shown in his earlier novels (e.g., Rising Phoenix, Storming Heaven, Free Fall), Mills (has a proven ability to write a gripping political thriller. His latest novel continues the trend and is his strongest effort to date. Burn Factor introduces a new protagonist, Quinn Barry, a young computer programmer who is working on the FBI's Combined DNA Index System when she discovers what seems to be a major bug in her program. In reality, it is evidence of an active cover-up being perpetrated by a shadow group from the military. They're intent on making sure that no one connects a string of brutal murders. When Quinn begins an investigation, she becomes a target of the people trying to cover up the deaths and the man causing them. The protagonist in many thrillers ends up being the pawn of people with frightening power, yet the author takes that possibility one step further; the people doing the chasing are actually the pawns of a killer who rivals Hannibal Lecter in intelligence (and brutality). Recommended for all public libraries.
- Jane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Quinn Barry dreams of being an FBI field agent, but a computer programmer job with the Bureau is a good first step. Her job is to enhance a national DNA database that will give local law enforcement access to DNA data in much the same way that FBI fingerprint data is disseminated. There is a peculiarity in the existing program: it's designed to exclude a single DNA code related to a string of serial murders in the DC area reaching back a decade. Barry smells a cover-up and launches her own investigation, which eventually puts her on a collision course with the killer. Mills, author of two best-selling thrillers--Storming Heaven (1998) and Free Fall (2000)--featuring renegade FBI agent Mark Beamon (who makes a cameo here) absolutely knows how to move a plot to warp speed. The tension is almost unbearable as Quinn forges ahead, not suspecting until it's almost too late that the killer is armed and closing fast. A superior thriller. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060193344
• ISBN 13: 9780060193348
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368