THE MAGDALENA GAMBIT

A government agent is dispatched to deal with traitorous Naval brass in Ortiz’s thriller, one in a series.

At the turn of the 21st century, three United States Navy nuclear submarines vanished, and only two were recovered by Naval Intelligence. The third, a massive Ohio-class sub, finally turned up in Barranquilla, Colombia, stashed inside a grotto in the Magdalena River. It appeared that some Navy admirals, possibly with Russian collusion, planned to sell the subs to cartels, facilitating the movement of tons of illegal drugs. CI5 agent Pat Coonan (also known as Agent Delta) is given orders to “discreetly eliminate” the traitors. His boss, Col. Marlon Berkowitz, presents the job as simple: Dispense with the treasonous Admiral Fullerton, as well as the Russian mercenaries guarding the sub. But Pat’s old nemesis is involved, the guards might be undercover agents of the Russian intelligence agency GRU, and even Putin himself may be embroiled. Pat’s further distracted by his new partner; Karina Reyes, head of the Triple K group, is contracted to send a message of deterrence by blowing up the sub, but Pat can’t keep his eyes off of her legs. Once onboard, a shocking discovery is made—the sub is loaded with ICBMs. Ortiz’s book works best in the context of its series; events from other installments are alluded to but not explained, such as a “waggish incident between the blonde-haired Jessica and the Triple K group’s gay operator back in Aruba.” (Asterisks also repeatedly direct readers to Ortiz’ different works.) This story doesn’t have a high quotient of suspense or action as Pat encounters surprisingly few obstacles. Ruthless killer Nina Tetriak merely hands him a note, and only a U.S. government agent points a gun at Pat—in error. Pat’s narrative musings are the main focus, so readers’ engagement with his persona (jaded, computer-illiterate, “phallocratic”) will likely determine their overall enjoyment. Ortiz does provide intriguing information on many subjects, including the “one hundred and seventy meters long by thirteen meters wide” Ohio-class submarines, pencil detonators “color-coded to indicate their delay time,” and even algae (“more than thirty thousand known species”).

Factually dense but light on action sequences.