Last summer, I read Robert Pobi’s first Lucas Page novel, City of Windows, and thought it was a real standout, the kind of summer thriller you want everybody to read along with you as you speculate about who is behind the fiendish killings terrifying the New York populace.

This summer, in Under Pressure, the FBI is faced with an even more frightening case than in City of Windows. A spectacular and ingenious bomb kills over 700 movers and shakers attending a gala at the Guggenheim in advance of the IPO for an environmental technology firm called Horizon Dynamics.

With so many victims, it’s tough for the FBI to figure out who might have been the bomber’s target. The data set is overwhelming. So who better to get to work on it than Page, the brilliant professor and king of data analysis? Page had previously been with the FBI and lost an eye and a couple of limbs in a bombing while on the job. In City of Windows, he nearly loses his life again, along with his wife, six adopted kids and goofy Lab, Lemmy. So he’ll be totally willing to pitch in and help out the FBI again, right? Well, yeah, and it’s a good thing too, because the Guggenheim is just the first of many bombings that soon have NYC in a frenzy of terror and rage.

Who knows what Page was like before The Event, as he thinks of his bomb maiming, but today he is a curmudgeon to pretty much everybody outside his family and some of his students. He also has a hate on for a lot of contemporary America, including, in no particular order, digilantes and conspiracy people (especially false-flaggers and other deniers), anti-abortion groups, militia types, red-hat wearers, white supremacists and wrath of Godders. Oh, and also the media that are more interested in entertainment than facts, and their compulsion to speculate or downright accuse without basis and, by that, get the extremists and crazies all whipped up. Generally, Page is angry that the country is getting stupider all the time and Americans are throwing themselves enthusiastically into their ignorance. So I’d say that while Page’s (likely Pobi’s) disdain is fairly broad-based, maybe a special trigger warning is in order for fans of Donald Trump, Fox News, OANN, Alex Jones, and the like.

Page’s FBI contacts put up with his bad attitude because he’s a savant. He can look at a crime scene, and a part of his brain shifts into gear, seeing the scene as a collection of mathematical and physical elements, which allows him to reconstruct what happened. It’s a little bit like the genius character (David?) in that old TV series Numb3rs, only with sarcasm. Pobi has a talent for explaining Page’s thinking in a way that makes it easy to follow and flatters readers that they are having Page’s insights right along with him.

Plenty of action and tension, twists and turns of plot, a complex whodunnit, and moments of humor all combine to make this another winning Lucas Page thriller for Robert Pobi. I hope Page will be persuaded to get himself talked into another investigation in time for my summer 2021 reading.

In Under Pressure, Lucas Page, the brilliant astrophysicist and pattern detector, is called in by the FBI after an explosion at the Guggenheim Museum that left 702 people dead. Other explosions follow, leaving death and mayhem in their wake. A manifesto is sent to CNN taking credit for the explosions and stating that they stem from an anti-technology revolution. Lucas doesn't buy the veracity of the letter and believes that it was written by a computer program, not a real person.

The Guggenheim explosion occurred towards the end of a gala for high rollers on Wall Street who were welcoming an IPO that was coming out shortly. The IPO was for an eco-friendly company that planned to clean up messes from fracking and mining debris. At the height of the celebration, confetti was strewn everywhere and the bomb was disguised in the confetti. The damage was awful as people melted and exploded from the inside out.

Lucas is still married to Erin and has several adopted children, each unique in their own special way. Lucas remains challenged from the 'event' that left him with only one arm, one leg, and one eye. As he tries to balance his family life with his FBI work, he finds it very difficult.

Lucas is triggered emotionally by the bombings. They bring up past trauma that he seeks to avoid. As he gets deeper into the case, he finds that all the bombings appear to be linked to one company, owned by two brothers. Lucas is sure that the motive is money, but who stands to gain?

I really liked the first book in the series but this second installment wasn't as satisfying. There was a lot of repetition, reminding the reader of what had happened previously, which I thought was filler.
I liked the pairing of Lucas with Whitaker as in the first novel. I highly recommend reading Pobi's first Lucas Page novel before jumping in to this one.

Oh my goodness but I love love love these books!! Lucas Page is amazing, his wife and Whitaker are rockstars, the mysterious underpinning each book are original and well crafted, and the back and forth revelations - inch by painstaking inch - of his history with Kehoe are fascinating to witness unfold... There's so much going on, layered seven secrets deep here - I want five more books to come out tomorrow just so I can watch it all unravel at the current pace, which is perfect for this series. If you haven't started this series yet, do so quickly - there's a lot going on and you won't want to waste a minute catching up when the next installment hits the shelves!!

Wow second in this series.Drew me right in kept me reading late into the night.So many twists and turns characters that come alive.Recommending the series the author,#betgalley#st.martinsbooks

Another absolute gem from Robert Pobi in his Lucas Page series.

City of Windows was *that* book for me last year. You know, the one you bring up at parties, tout endlessly on social media, and recommend to everyone you know.

In other words, it was a tough act to follow. Yet Pobi’s series followup doesn’t miss a beat, returning us to the world of Dr. Lucas Page, his delightfully misanthropic protagonist, as well s the rest of the series’ wonderful recurring cast.

I had no doubt the book would be good. But I was skeptical as to whether it could match its predecessor. In addition to the fact that City of Windows was simply so excellent that it seemed near impossible to match, I fretted a bit about the villain and the nature of the crimes.

Snipers tend to make far more interesting bad guys than bombers do, in my opinion. But Pobi, master of the cerebral thriller that he is, managed to subvert that notion here, giving us a complex and fascinating series of crimes and an elusive and compelling villain committing them.

He also gives us one of the most terrifyingly thrilling, emotionally harrowing scenes that I’ve had the pleasure of encountering. The last one I can recall that felt comparable was in—you guessed it—City of Windows.

Like its predecessor, this book is a top-of-genre offering, and one that I would emphatically recommend to just about any reader.

Following up to City of windows, Under Pressure, is just as thrilling as the first book! loved the fast paced twists and turns Pobi uses to navigate us through FBi investigations with Lucas Page in the forefront. There has been a bombing of mass destruction at the Guggenheim killing over 700 people! When the FBI are involved, this means they look to Lucas for his unique ability to see the grand picture mathematically and derive what happened better than most. The problem is Lucas was nearly killed last year when he helped the team out and is not so thrilled to be called upon again. So how does he get taken into this again-simple-this is a “physics ad chemistry problem”. After numerous bombings that make no sense or connection-Lucas pulls in two students to help and through genius computer and analytic skills and looking for “what isn’t there” they find a vector connecting the bombings-but will they get to the culprit in time before he strikes again-this time at one of their own? I couldn’t put this book down and literally was on the edge of my seat until he last chapter reading until the wee hours of the morning!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Under Pressure.

I enjoyed the first Lucas Page novel so I was pleased when my request was approved for the sequel.

In this explosive second book (no pun intended), Dr. Lucas Page is called in by the FBI once again to investigate a horrific bombing at a famed institution.

When more bombings occur, Page has to work against the clock to find out who profits the most from all the blood being split, before he becomes the next victim.

Lucas Page is his usual irascible, sarcastic, why-are-people-such-idiots self. I like Lucas; he's smart and he knows it but doesn't throw it in people's faces.

His inability to be a team player and aloof genius is tempered by his wonderful family, his devoted wife, Erin, their rat pack of unique foster children, and sweet dog, Lemmy.

There's nonstop drama and action in this book; so much so the reader can barely catch his or her breath.

There's also a crapload of death and flying body parts; violence and bloodshed is just part and parcel of the story.

Like most heroes of their story, Lucas doesn't realize the identity of the killer until the last minute, because even though he may be half man, half machine, he is still human and made an error in his deductions.

I enjoy mysteries/thrillers when you can solve the case alongside the protagonist.

I look forward to the next book in the series.

Good stuff! This is a solid thriller with a great main character and a fast moving plot. Pobi has been around a while and knows how to tell a good tale. There's a fair amount of violence and everything is not always realistic, but that's why it's fiction. Recommended for thriller fans.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!

I really enjoyed the first novel in Robert Pobi’s Lucas Page series, City of Windows. I was therefore very much looking forward to the character’s second outing, and I’m happy to report that I was not disappointed. I really enjoyed this, and zipped through it.

Lucas Page is an excellent protagonist. The victim of a bombing years ago, he has been reconstructed with multiple prosthetics. He has left the FBI and turned his prodigious intellect to teaching — a profession he finds rewarding, but also a little bit boring. He was roped into an FBI investigation in City of Windows, helping hunt down a sniper in New York City. In Under Pressure, a massive and sophisticated explosive device is detonated at a swanky art exhibit. Hundreds of New York’s wealthiest are vaporized in seconds. Page is called in to consult — a surprisingly callous request, given his own history and trauma. He accepts, however, due to his sense of justice and attraction to a new puzzle to solve. As events spiral beyond the one explosion, Page and the FBI must scramble to prevent more bombings. Evidence mounts that this is the work of a highly intelligent mastermind with access to plenty of resources — and also one who has been planning this for quite some time.

Page’s cavalier approach to self-preservation gets results, but also creates considerable tension in his family and with his by-the-book FBI colleagues. It makes for a gripping read, but also keeps him grounded and adds an extra layer to his character. His fierce desire to see justice served (and crush ignorance) is at war with his deep love for his family and desire to keep them safe and happy.

“It is the twenty-first century and we still have to deal with flat-earthers and anti-vaxxers and moon landing truthers. This is what you get when guns are more important than books—a nation of sociocultural primitives.”

As in the previous novel in the series, Under Pressure has a lot of social and political commentary. Everything from America’s weakness for conspiracy theories, to police brutality, to the deleterious impact the internet has had on society is covered, and covered well: Pobi wields his sharp pen effectively, but never devolves into tirades that do not serve the story. The author is clearly quite critical of certain aspects of American society and culture, which he channels mainly through Page (and the story’s antagonist, but going into that in any detail will spoil things).

“The crowd two blocks up was chanting again, the words False flag! False flag! False flag! on loop and he wondered if certain people misunderstood the Pledge of Allegiance to include the line one nation undereducated.”

Page has a Dr. Gregory House-like confidence in his own abilities and is quite secure in the knowledge that he is almost always the most intelligent person in any room he enters. He is quite abrasive as a result, easily rubs people the wrong way, and has difficult making connections with colleagues. This does make his interactions with others often amusing to read about, of course.

“You must find this job very tedious, Dr. Page.”

“No. Just the people I deal with.”

He’s not infallible, however, and it’s equally interesting to see him fix his mistakes and errors in calculation or observation. His working relationship with Whitaker is great, and I’m very happy that she returned. She is one of the few people Page can stand, and she manages to (mostly) keep him in line and alive.

Page’s colleagues are more positive in their impressions of their countrymen — despite being in law enforcement and frequently coming into contact with the worst that America has to offer. Their presence in the story stops the novel becoming too critical, but also offers great room for discussion and examination.

Overall, then, Under Pressure is another excellent novel in this new series. Page is a great protagonist, and Whitaker and Kehoe are excellent support for him. I’m really looking forward to more novels in this series and by this author.

Definitely recommended.

Under Pressure is an action-packed adventure from the first explosion until the satisfying ending. Lucas Page is an interesting character; he is rather abrasive, and he’s a character you love to hate. His family is his saving grace. Plus, his dog is adorable.

The mystery is solid, and the authors use of our dependence on smartphones and social media reads like current day events, especially the protests and demonstrations.

Under Pressure is a good addition to the series. I’m looking forward to more. Overall, a very enjoyable and page-turning read.

#UnderPressure #NetGalley

6 out of 5! Dr. Lucas Page is a character I can't get enough of. The action-packed novel unfolds at break-neck speed.

Brett Kehoe of FBI hooks Lucas Page into returning to assist in solving the bombing of the NYC Guggenheim Museum that killed 702 people, including the top personnel of Horizon Dynamics, a world financing investment firm. When bombs with the same C-4 signature keep going off, Page and his team are hard pressed to find the links and unravel the mastermind.

Characters are well written and work together to create an interesting team.

I thought City of Windows was excellent, Under Pressure is twice as excellent!

“Under Pressure, by Robert Pobi (St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books), is another unique story with the excitingly different hero Lucas Page. The characters are good, the twists unending and the tight relationships between Page and his family and some of his friends very touching.
Lucas, the Tin Man who does have a heart, with his super intelligence and analytical powers, goes through a terrible ordeal in this installment and I felt for him.
I had a hard time keeping track with all the characters, and the plot didn’t grab me like the previous one, perhaps because of the amount of violent events happening. The violence and death left me uncomfortable, seeming too gratuitous; of course, there was a reason, or an explanation, and I was guessing it until the end, but it all seemed a bit disproportionate.

One of the most exciting and adrenaline fueled books ai have ever read. I had been waiting for a Robert Pobi to write another a novel featuring Dr. Lucas Page since I finished his first book last year.
I was thrilled to receive an ARC from Netgalley. This book read like a C4 fueled bomb that never stopped detonating till the final page.

Five very enthusiastic stars!

I’m counting the days till Dr. Lucas Page continues his adventures in book number three.
The sooner the better.

Thank you Robert Pobi for putting the thrill back into the genre

Lucas Page is back is this breath stopping thriller that will keep you asking, "Will this ever end."

The main character is an intelligent, but flawed astrophysicist with two prosthetics, an artificial eye and a drive to solve the problem no matter the impact on his personal life. Plus he's good with numbers, eerily good, and all are put to the test when a series of bombings seems unsolvable and brings back unwanted memories.

If I have any complaints I feel some portions were too wordy and could have achieved the same effect with fewer words. All in all this book is a heart pounding, edge of your seat reading that I have come to love and I cannot wait for the next.

Oh, I forgot about the ending. OMG! You don't want to miss this one!

An excellent action/suspense book that starts with an explosion killing over 700 people. How do you investigate something like that? FBI agent in charge Brett Kehoe and Dr. Lucas Page must work together using both their strengths to figure this out. Edge of your seat action with great characters. I hope there’s more to come.

So here’s the deal. I need to write this fast because once again, this author has run me ragged & I’m in desperate need of a nap. This is book #2 of the Lucas Page series & as with “City of Windows” you’re in for a wild ride full of mystery, suspense & black humour.

The story begins with a literal bang after a massive explosion at NYC’s iconic Guggenheim Museum. The casualty list reads like a who’s who of millionaires & every level of law enforcement is left pondering the same question. What kind of bomb reduces 702 bodies to ashes but leaves the building upright?

One of those scratching his head is Brett Kehoe, the FBI’s special agent in charge of Manhattan. His first thought is who was the target….one of the victims or all of them? The logistics of investigating over 700 lives is overwhelming & Kehoe quickly realizes he needs someone who can absorb a million facts & spit out an answer. He needs a human computer. Good thing he knows one.

Meanwhile, Dr. Lucas Page has just learned a hard lesson. Never let your daughter experiment with hair dye. On you. He, wife Erin & their herd of kids are enjoying a break at the cottage. Or they were until Kehoe landed a chopper on the lawn.

He knows getting Lucas to join the investigation will be a tough sell but has 2 secret weapons. An irresistibly intricate puzzle to solve & special agent Angela Whitaker. She’s the one colleague Lucas can tolerate & the only one who finds his antisocial behaviour amusing. It’s supposed to be a quick 2 day assignment. But then another bomb goes off. And another.

Grab a comfie chair, peeps, because you’re not going to be moving for a few hours. Pobi knows how to tell a story that grips you from the start. The plot is complex & perfect for readers who love to ride shotgun with an investigation. What elevates it above your garden variety thriller are the characters.

Lucas is an original & complicated MC. His unique brain took him from foster kid to astrophysicist. Then an horrific accident left him with 2 prosthetic limbs. But his sunny personality…..just kidding. He pretty much hates everyone. Blunt sarcasm is his preferred style of communication but it’s also the source of much of the black humour found throughout.

Matching him shot for shot is Whitaker, an intelligent young woman with little time for fools. Their relationship is such an enjoyable part of this series & provides comic relief when we need a breather from the hair-raising action. The dialogue in general is economical but conversations between these two have a dry, edgy humour that adds to the story.

But as much as I enjoy the returning characters I must confess I have a new favourite. That would be Binky. He’s the strong, silent type who never loses his cool. Sure, he’s a bit hairier than his partner but he gets the job done. All he asks is you throw a few olives his way. Total scene-stealer.

The author also takes shots at our increasing dependence on & addiction to smart phones & social media. I don’t want to give too much away as it’s integral to the plot but there’s a hilarious irony to several scenes featuring public demonstrations. And (sadly) they are completely believable.

It’s not long before we identify the target but figuring out the “who” in who-dun-it might take you until the last few pages. At a time when we’re all looking for a little escapism, this book provides a smart, entertaining remedy for the stay at home blahs. I’d love to tag along with these characters again so hopefully book #3 is in the works. Fingers crossed it includes Binky.

My first Robert Pobi novel and I am stunned at how good it was. Wow. For the action/ mystery who dunnit. Fantastic. Now I will be back reading the previous Lucas Page novel for the pure entertainment. Thank you Netgalley for the fine read.