The New York Times bestselling master of suspense returns to his beloved series, adapted for TV (CBS's Tracker , starring Justin Hartley) as reward seeker Colter Shaw races against the clock to save a flooding town from a full-fledged disaster, where the culprit lurks in the plain sight. When a levee collapses in Hinowah, a small town in Northern California, Colter Shaw is brought on by his sister, Dorion, a disaster response specialist, to help locate a family swept away by the raging water, with mere hours to survive. But after a surprise attack along the river obstructs Colter's urgent search, the siblings are forced to consider a new reality: Is the levee at risk of failing from natural causes, or is someone sabotaging it? Colter and Dorion must race against a ticking clock to uncover the truth and save the citizens before the village washes out completely, destroying everything and everyone in its path. One of Library Journal 's Best Books of 2025 One of New York Post 's 30 Must-Read New Thrillers "Could I put the book down? Not a chance." — Sarah W., The New York Times Book Review "This suspenseful thriller will keep readers off-balance and unsure whom to trust . . . Perfect for a one-sitting read." — Library Journal (starred review) "An exhilarating action-infused mystery. . . . Jeffrey Deaver does a brilliant job of incorporating suspense along with the harrowing drama of a natural disaster." — BookTrib "Deaver is a first-class storyteller. . . . he takes an interesting, complex character (Colter comes from a survivalist family) and builds an intricate, unpredictable story around them. Readers familiar with Mr. Shaw will thoroughly enjoy this novel. For those who haven’t met him yet, this is a good time to rectify that." — Booklist "Riveting . . . Deaver’s pacing is characteristically top-notch, and he ratchets up the suspense . . . This series has plenty of gas in the tank." — Publishers Weekly Jeffery Deaver is the #1 international bestselling author of more than forty novels, three collections of short stories, and a nonfiction law book. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into 25 languages. His first novel featuring Lincoln Rhyme , The Bone Collector , was made into a major motion picture starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. He's received or been shortlisted for a number of awards around the world, including Novel of the Year by the International Thriller Writers and the Steel Dagger from the Crime Writers' Association in the United Kingdom. In 2014, he was the recipient of three lifetime achievement awards. A former journalist, folk singer, and attorney, he was born outside of Chicago and has a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a law degree from Fordham University. 1. Three vehicles had the bad luck to be atop the Hinowah levee when it gave way. At the front was a late-model Chevrolet Camaro, nicknamed Big Blue by the woman driving it, Fiona Lavelle. She was twenty-six years old and had recently left a teaching job and was using the newly allotted time to devote herself to her passion: writing a fantasy novel. Traveling from Reno to Fresno, for a spa getaway, she had taken this more demanding but picturesque route through the mountains. In jeans and red crop top under a gray sweatshirt, Lavelle gripped the wheel firmly, her car countering the lashing wind. The vehicle's engine was big, but the body light. The highway, Route 13, was two-lane asphalt except for the hundred-yard stretch on the dirt levee, where it was surfaced with cinders, gravel and-today-mud. Guardrails, she thought, mentally putting sardonic quotation marks around the words. They looked like they wouldn't stop a bike, let alone a muscle car like hers. A sign on her right, where lights and the outline of the town of Hinowah were visible a hundred feet below, said SLOW UNPAVED ROAD. As if one needed the warning. On the left, where the river raged: No FISHING from Levee. Odd capitalization. As the car progressed, bits of stone clicked as the tires tossed them into the undercarriage even at this slow speed. It was an odd counterpoint to the powerful drumbeat of the rain on Big Blue's roof. "Well," she gasped, as a wave splashed from the river into the air and spattered the windshield. The Never Summer was relentless, racing downstream, south, a speeding train, nearly even with the top of the levee. The rain had been torrential for the past hour. The velocity of the river had to be twice hers, which was about twenty miles an hour or so. On the opposite bank was a steep cliff, craggy and dotted with small caves. She noted an old graffitied heart, in red. In the center: LM + DP. 4EVER . . . What are you doing? she thought. Concentrate on the road! A flash of light appeared in her rearview mirror. The headlights of a vehicle behind her. Was the driver irritated at her slow pace? She was in a sports car, for heaven's sake. The underbell