Heat

DEA agent Jesse Warden, serving time for a murder he did not commit, is offered a deal by his former boss, the man who framed him. He is to infiltrate a religious cult in an Idaho town, for which he will receive a pardon. But how to make sure he is not framed again?

ex-dea Agent Jesse Warden Has Seen Enough Of The Inside Of A Solitary Confinement Cell To Last Him A Lifetime. Or Two Lifetimes, Which Is The Sentence He's Serving After Being Convicted Of A Plan He Was Planning To Commit, But Never Did. So When An Old Buddy Shows Up With A Deal That Could Spring Him From His Hell Behind Bars, He's Ready To Listen.

to Gain His Freedom, Jesse Must Infiltrate A Dangerous And Reclusive Religious Cult That Has Been Stockpiling Weapons And Eliminating Those Sent To Investigate. From The Moment He Arrives In The Idaho Mountain Town Where The Cult Is Centered, Jesse Finds Every Aspect Of Life Dictated By The Group's Eerie, Imposing Leader. Pitted Against Not Only The Cult, But Also The Feds Who Sent Him, Jesse Feels Control Of His Own Life Slipping Away, And Must Make A Final,desperate Attempt To Regain It — Or Die Trying.

booklist

woods' Books, While Often Flawed, Are Always Popular--witness The Recent Success Of L.a. Times , Dead Eyes , And Santa Fe Rules (1992). This One, Though, May Deserve Its Likely Bestsellerdom More Than Any Of Its Predecessors. The Mile-a-minute Plot Is Clearly Modeled On The Branch Davidian Disaster, With Aryan Universe Leader Jack Gene Coldwater Playing The Role Of David Koresh And Exerting Control Over A Band Of Followers In Idaho. Enter Jesse Warden, Former Federal Agent Convicted Of Stealing Confiscated Drug Money And Killing His Partner. Jesse Is In Prison For A Good Long Stretch Unless He's Willing To Do A Deal With The Government: A Presidential Pardon In Return For Infiltrating The Cult And Providing Enough Evidence To Send Coldwater And His Lieutenants To Prison For Life. Despite A Few Momentary Lapses Into Banal Predictability, Woods Has Concocted A High-octane Story Filled With Nail-biting Suspense And Enough Unusual Twists To Keep Even Experienced Puzzle-solvers Guessing. Buy Plenty Of Copies--this One Is As Commercial As They Come.

Jesse Warden is at the end of his rope. Imprisoned unjustly (or, at least, for the wrong crime), he spends half his time in solitary confinement and the other half fighting with convicts who want to kill him because he was once a cop. Then, at his lowest ebb, he is offered a way out. To earn his freedom, he must infiltrate a dangerous and reclusive religious cult in the mountains of the Idaho panhandle, a mission that turns out to be a great deal more perilous than his stay in prison. From his first day in the Idaho town, Jesse finds every aspect of life especially his life controlled by the strange and dangerous Jack Gene Coldwater, leader of the cult, and his investigation reveals much more than he had imagined. In a gripping climax, Jesse is pitted against not only Coldwater and his cult, but also the leaders of the federal agency who sent him there and there is no one he can trust. THE PRICE OF FREEDOM Ex-DEA agent Jesse Warden has seen enough of the inside of a solitary confinement cell to last him a lifetime. Or two lifetimes, which is the sentence he's serving after being convicted of a plan he was planning to commit, but never did. So when an old buddy shows up with a deal that could spring him from his behind bars, he's ready to listen. To gain his freedom, Jesse must infiltrate a dangerous and reclusive religious cult that has been stockpiling weapons and eliminating those sent to investigate. From the moment he arrives in the Idaho mountain town where the cult is centered, Jesse finds every aspect of life dictated by the group's eerie, imposing leader. Pitted against not only the cult, but also the feds who sent him, Jesse feels control of his own life slipping away, and must make a final, desperate attempt to regain it -- or die trying. Three federal agents have attempted this risky mission already. None of them have survived. Now the Justice Department wants to bring back Jesse Warden, an ex-DEA agent serving time for a crime he didn't commit, to take on a lethal assignment that no one else wants. To earn his freedom, the battered ex-cop must destroy the Aryan Universe, a deadly, reclusive cult living deep in the Idaho mountains. But are his greatest enemies the cultists--or the heads of the federal agency that sent him? Jesse Warden, an federal inmate, is given a chance to earn his freedom by infiltrating a religious cult in the Idaho mountains. Atlanta Federal Prison swam slowly out of the smog as the helicopter beat its way south from Fulton County Airport.