Lynn Sholes and Joe Moore, The Tomb

Retired OSI agent Maxine Decker continues to grow on me. In her third outing—after The Blade and The Shield—she finds out about a long submerged, corroded Nazi device that's recently surfaced in Mexico. Whatever the thing is, and despite its condition, it's worth killing for. And as you might guess, Maxine and her former husband, OSI Special Agent Kenny Gates, are on the short list of potential victims.

The book follows Maxine and Kenny as they try to figure out what's going on: it turns out that the Nazi relic is tied to a very real threat in the present day, and thousands of American lives are at stake. The main story is interrupted periodically by excerpts from an old diary. A woman named Magda Scarlet provides a riveting account of a personal tragedy. Her story seems at first to be completely unrelated to the modern-day drama that's keeping Maxine busy, but of course it's not. Eventually the two storylines merge, and it's a bit of a surprise when they do. (My one complaint about the book is that Magda Scarlet's transformation is so dramatic that it perhaps strains credibility.)

The Tomb is a quick read with short chapters that keep you turning the pages. An entertaining plot, but I'm increasingly in it for the characters. I really like the relationship between Maxine and Kenny: it's a sweet romance that somehow keeps you hooked despite their history. Their happily ever after didn't take the first time, but we're hoping they'll give it a second shot.