Dark Matter by Tom Grace

In space, a technological nightmare orbits the Earth, stalking its prey. Sheathed in a black multifaceted skin, a secret all but invisible against the darkness of space, the killer satellite hunts with one of the deadliest weapons ever created. It is Zeus – and like the god of myth it hurls lightning from the heavens.

Astronaut Kelsey Newton and her crewmates aboard the International Space Station have just settled in for a six-month mission when they discover the existence of Zeus. Alone and defenseless in orbit, the astronauts report what they know, even at the risk of becoming targets themselves. The job of finding out who placed a weapon in space falls to Kelsey’s fiancé, ex-Navy SEAL Nolan Kilkenny.

Racing against time, Kilkenny must search through the wreckage of the past and find the key to disarming Zeus if he’s going to save the love of his life – and opposing him is an army of mercenary killers and a megalomaniacal tycoon whose craving for power will plunge the world into chaos.

DARK MATTER is available from Amazon and Audible.

 *****

“As Nolan Kilkenny, a Navy SEAL turned scientist, watches his fiancée, Kelsey Newton, launch into space to deploy a communications satellite, he thinks of the dangers he faced as a SEAL and the dangers she now faces as an astronaut and muses, “At least no one up in space is trying to kill you.” He soon realizes how wrong he is, however, when a black ship carrying a high-powered laser takes aim at the satellite, then the shuttle itself. Kelsey makes it safely to the international space station, while Nolan tries to find out who is firing upon the satellites and why. His investigation takes him around the globe in an exciting cat-and-mouse chase with a Russian assassin and leads him to an enormous global corporation run by a ruthless woman willing to commit high-tech murder to stop her competitors. The narrative cuts quickly from place to place, culminating in a tense showdown at sea. Grace’s prose recalls Ian Fleming at his most lean, and although the focus is on the ticking time bomb in orbit, Grace (Twisted Web, etc.) throws in a wealth of technical details and gadgetry to satisfy techno-thriller aficionados. This is a complex story with an enormous cast of characters, but Grace keeps the plot clean and streamlined, making this a brisk, enjoyable read.” — Publisher’s Weekly

 *****

Tom Grace is the author of five Nolan Kilkenny thrillers, including the AP #1 bestselling novel The Secret Cardinal. An architect in private practice, he resides with his wife and family in Michigan.