Line of demarcation

Woodward's top-notch latest Jack Ryan Jr. novel (after Tom Clancy: Shadow State) finds the Campus, a covert government organization, locked in a deadly contest between the Russians, corrupt foreign officials, and an international drug lord. Lead Campus operator Ryan is in Georgetown, Guyana, working undercover as the CEO of Athena Global Shipping Lines. Guyana has recently begun to exploit a massive new oil field that promises to be the largest previously untapped reserve in the world. Jack is lunching with Guyana's minister of the interior and attorney general when he's caught in sudden crossfire. He escapes, but the two officials are killed, setting in motion a multipronged plot that finds separate teams of Campus agents tasked with fighting a Russia-backed Guyanese coup and rescuing Campus operator Domingo "Ding" Chavez, who's deep undercover with a drug gang. Woodward juggles each subplot with aplomb, and ushers the proceedings toward the exact sort of explosive climax Clancy readers expect (with bonus points for the inclusion of hydrogen-powered killer Jet Skis). It's a standout entry in the series. Agent: Tracy Fisher, WME. (May)