with a leftover World War II mine. But when a rescue team arrives to help the trapped submariners reach safety, they find instead that the crew members have all frozen to death from the inside out in the sub’s temperature-controlled environment.

While this is happening in the ocean near Alaska, FBI special agent Gina Delgado (who also appeared with Walker in the first novel in this series) is investigating another mysterious death half a continent away. An intern on a United States Geological Service research project in the Everglades was stabbed to death, and his body was dumped in the swamp. Delgado discovers the dead intern’s identification is fake and that the killers are professionals. As she investigates, Walker is looking into the theft of Native American artifacts from various Alaskan museums. He catches the thieves in the act, but before he can apprehend them, another professional killer murders the thieves and steals their haul.

Anyone who has ever read a thriller like Cold Burn knows that seemingly unrelated incidents happening vast distances apart are often connected, and that’s the case here. I won’t reveal any more details except to say that the cases become far more important than isolated thefts and murders. Walker’s investigation eventually takes him to remote Lester Island (an actual location) in Alaska, where he finds some answers deep inside abandoned mines on the island. The island is home to the Tlingit tribe, several of whom figure into the book’s climactic action. Amka Reynolds, a tribal member with a doctorate from MIT, becomes Walker’s right-hand and a source of scientific explanations in the book.

The authors extensively researched Cold Burn, and the book has many historical and scientific references. They avoid lengthy information dumps and acronym-filled technobabble. Instead, their explanations are usually relevant, brief, and helpful to readers in understanding the plot. For example, in the opening chapters, a salvage trawler under contract with the U.S. Navy found and raised a mine that had sunk to the bottom of the ocean. I was unaware these salvage operations existed and was fascinated by the authors’ description of the process. This operation wasn’t extraneous filler, either; the submarine struck the mine being raised, leading to the tragedy that unfolded.

The authors do a good job of character development within the structure of a thriller. Michael Walker is a complex hero, as he’s still trying to fully process the death of his wife a few years earlier in an incident that led to the amputation of his foot. (The damage his prosthetic replacement foot suffers during the book puts Walker in acute danger a few times and adds to the overall suspense.) He also slowly develops a friendship with Amka, one that may lead to romance in future books in the series. Cold Burn has several colorful villains as well. The most noteworthy “big bad” is a sadistic multi-billionaire who was clearly patterned after Elon Musk.

I had a few problems with the authors’ stylistic decisions in Cold Burn. They had an annoying habit of ending a chapter on a seeming cliffhanger that proves to be quite innocuous when explained in a subsequent chapter. For example, at the end of one chapter, Delgado and her assistant were watching surveillance footage of a suspect when she noticed something in the suspect’s pocket. They reacted in shock at her discovery. Readers must wait five chapters to learn the mysterious object wasn’t the code for the nuclear football or any similar classified information. Instead, it was a local department store clothing tag that provided a further clue to the suspect’s whereabouts. The authors also include trivial snippets at the start of each chapter. Although not always relevant to the story, this trivia is usually interesting. However, some factoids, such as the mention that Lester Island was the site of a beetle infestation in 1979, were head-scratchers.

The authors also discuss the history of Lester Island, where the natives fought off an invading Russian army in the early 1800s. This discussion of little-known historical events was illuminating and led to a greater appreciation of the local culture (as the authors intended). Unfortunately, the authors take their admiration for the culture too far and introduce some supernatural elements into the story, as when Amka’s grandfather, a supposed shaman, brings about abrupt changes in the winter weather. These paranormal events contrasted sharply with the book’s overall scientific atmosphere.

Cold Burn effectively combines ingenious police investigation, suspenseful action set pieces, and high-level political intrigue. The authors combine several storylines thousands of miles apart in a way that’s easy to follow. They also have a likable, offbeat, well-rounded protagonist and some enjoyably detestable villains. The extensive research that finds its way into the storyline can sometimes go overboard, and some of the authors’ efforts to artificially enhance suspense are unnecessary and annoying. However, suspense fans should enjoy a different type of hero in a different kind of thriller.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.