William Diehl stunned readers with Primal Fear and Show of Evil , the national bestsellers featuring Chicago lawyer Martin Vail. Now, in his gripping new novel of suspense, Diehl enters uncharted territory, pushing Vail and the legal system he represents to the brink of destruction. The nation is seized by fear. A terrorist attack on a military convoy leaves scores of soldiers dead as truckloads of highly volatile weapons fall into the hands of an ultra right-wing militia. A fanatic, snake-handling preacher known only as Brother Transgressor joins forces with this radical group, adding fuel to the fire. No one knows who this mysterious figure is or where he came from, but few can resist his ardent convictions--or see that his persuasive ways conceal his own dark secrets and sinister agenda. Having just won a landmark conviction, Martin Vail--now Illinois attorney general--has risen to national prominence. His bravado and cunning reputation catch the attention of the Oval Office. The President demands swift legal action against the militia and turns to Vail, naming him an assistant attorney general of the United States. His job: nail the terrorists in their tracks. Still hungry as ever to make up for the fatal mistakes he made years ago, Vail plunges into his new, near-impossible mission, one that soon explodes into a personal nightmare, as his most chilling adversary, Aaron Stampler, returns--seemingly from the dead--to enact a vengeance that might bring Vail to his knees. " 'So Pennington trades his war years for a ticket to the White House and Engstrom plans the second American Revolution,' Vail said." This is the premise behind Diehl's (Show of Evil, LJ 4/15/95) new Martin Vail novel. Illinois state attorney general Vail is called upon by President Lawrence Pennington to seek a trial case against one of the largest militia outfits in the country. The leader of this outfit, Gen. Joshua Engstrom, just happens to be an old adversary of the president, putting Vail in the middle of a dangerous situation. Vail must also relive the past when unwillingly faced with his nemesis from years ago, serial killer Aaron Stampler, who has now become blind Brother Transgression. The meshing of these storylines is intricate yet easily followed as the tension mounts. Diehl's exciting mystery teaches the reader never to think that it is over?until it is really over. Recommended for all public libraries. -?Stacey Reasor, ITT Technical Inst. Lib.,Tampa, Fla. Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. Veteran thriller writer Diehl pits scrappy Chicago lawyer Martin Vail against Bible-thumping militia maniacs and Vail's old adversary, psychokiller Aaron Stampler, in a mindless plotboiler that never fails to please. Having succeeded fabulously as a defense attorney (Primal Fear, 1993) and then as a district attorney (Show of Evil, 1995), crusading, street-smart Vail is now promoted to the lofty, politically turbulent office of Illinois State Attorney General. Between passionate trysts with his previous courtroom opponent, Jane Venable, Vail can't keep his paws (speaking of same) off corrupt politicians. Having committed his too-good-to-be-billable talents to the public weal, he effortlessly sends a pack of scalawags to jail using the RICO statute. He then finds himself tapped by US Attorney General Margaret Castaigne to draw up a RICO indictment against General Joshua Engstrom, a right-wing militia commander whose wacko religious order, the Sanctuary, may have been behind a terrorist attack on an Army convoy in Montana. Vail rapidly learns of Engstrom's hatred for his former Army buddy Lawrence Pennington, now President of the United States. Before you can say Ruby Ridge all over again, Diehl tosses in Arnold Stampler, Vail's homicidal former client and nemesis, as a fundamentalist preacher who feigns blindness and spouts marginally comprehensible hate sermons on Engstrom's radio station. From here on, Diehl's forced and foolish story hurtles on at full throttle, never stopping to question itself or the preposterousness of its plot. Vail staggers from one contrived cliffhanger to another until almost everyone is blown up except Stampler and Vail himself, who takes a bullet through his heart but has enough chutzpa to insult the President and thumb his nose at a federal judgeship. What a guy! Fizzy male wish-fulfillment that bulges with Clancyesque histrionics, frothing fundamentalist foment, and more than you want to know about hate groups and RICO indictments. (Literary Guild main selection/Mystery Guild selection; author tour) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. William Diehl's novels PRIMAL FEAR, SHOW OF EVIL, and REIGN IN HELL chronicle the conflict between attorney Martin Vail and the unrepentant sociopath Aaron Stampler. The saga begins with Vail defending the young Stampler in the murder trail of a distinguished Chicago Archbishop. I had been selling the first book in the series (PRIM