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From the publisher:

The second Great Depression is coming. The world’s economies are groaning under too much debt. If one thing goes wrong, the entire rickety system collapses. Now, acclaimed award-winning New York Times bestselling novelist David Hagberg and renowned financial reporter Lawrence Light have combined forces to dramatize―hour by hour―how this all-too-real catastrophe could go down in Crash.

With debt-burdened governments and businesses worldwide about to go bust, a cabal of Wall Street big shots plot to destroy the globe’s stock exchanges. To provide that one thing that goes wrong. In 24 hours, a powerful computer worm will smash the exchanges and spark an international panic, pushing a debt-laden world into the abyss. The Wall Street gang’s investment bank will be the last one standing, able to make a killing amid the ruins.

But one person, who works for their bank as a computer expert, spots the worm embedded deep in its network. Cassy Levin invents a program to destroy the cyber-intruder. Angered by Cassy’s discovery, her bosses order her kidnapping.

Her boyfriend, a former Navy SEAL, is alarmed at Cassy’s disappearance and unravels the plot. Ben Whalen only has until the next morning to save the woman he loves and prevent the economic apocalypse.

This story is based on the genuine threat posed by towering debt, which will make the 2008 financial crisis look puny.

An interesting, well-written novel and also a warning about the possibility of a major worldwide financial crisis due to the outrageous amounts of debt currently held by nations, companies, and individuals.

A group of Wall Street executives has entered into a plot to wreak havoc in worldwide financial markets by the introduction of a worm into companies’ web sites which will destroy the exchanges and cause panic around the world. Their idea will allow one huge company to escape the devastation of the worm and rake in fortunes buying at the depressed prices which will become available, and then selling at huge premiums over purchase price. Everything seems to be moving towards the fiscal Armageddon planned when one brilliant analyst working for that company comes up with an apparent fix for the worm. Her position is, of course, to advise management and expect that they will jump at the chance to prevent catastrophe. Unfortunately for Cassy Levin, the analyst finding the fix, it is the management that she advises that is setting up the project and to protect themselves, order her kidnapping and killing.

But there is an unknown ace in Cassy’s hand. Her fiancee is an ex-Navy Seal with the fighting skills that this group has. In looking for his love he finds that she has been kidnapped and employs all methods to find her and rescue her.

The story by itself is engrossing with action aplenty and there are lessons in quite a bit of the high finance that is necessary to do what is being planned. As already stated, the authors do make a strong case for a reexamination of the financial freedom that is too easily available. Events occurring in 2008 in the U.S. are brought up in which banks and financial institutions had to be bailed out by the government due to them being overextended. The overreaching by these financial institutions is blamed on the attitude of the Federal Reserve bank itself which in setting rediscount rates for banks regulates the number of loans that can be granted. The loose policies allowed loans freely granted to people and companies that by any analysis could not afford to service them, laying the groundwork for a probable financial collapse only forestalled by a government bailout.

5/2020 Paul Lane

CRASH by David Hagberg & Lawrence Light. Forge Books (April 28, 2020). ISBN: 978-1250249890. 320p.

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From the publisher:

The author of the “urgent and deeply moving” (The New York Times) Youngblood returns with this bold and provocative novel following a group of super-powered soldiers and civilians as they navigate an imperial America on the precipice of a major upheaval—for fans of The Fortress of Solitude and The Plot Against America.

Thirty years after its great triumph in Vietnam, the United States has again become mired in an endless foreign war overseas. Stories of super soldiers known as the Volunteers tuck in little American boys and girls every night. Yet domestic politics are aflame. Violent protests erupt throughout the nation; an ex-military watchdog group clashes with police while radical terrorists threaten to expose government experiments within the veteran rehabilitation colonies.

Halfway between war and peace, the Volunteers find themselves waiting for orders in the vast American city-state, Empire City. There they encounter a small group of civilians who know the truth about their powers, including Sebastian Rios, a young bureaucrat wrestling with survivor guilt, and Mia Tucker, a wounded army pilot-turned-Wall Street banker. Meanwhile, Jean-Jacques Saint-Preux, a Haitian-American Volunteer from the International Legion, decides he’ll do whatever it takes to return to the front lines.

Through it all, a controversial retired general emerges as a frontrunner in the presidential campaign, promising to save the country from itself. Her election would mean unprecedented military control over the country, with promises of security and stability—but at what cost?

Featuring Gallagher’s “vital” (The Washington Post), “evocative” (The Wall Street Journal) prose, Empire City is a rousing vision of an alternate—yet all too familiar—America on the brink.

Matt Gallagher takes up the task of writing about the aftermath of war – the feelings and actions of those veterans that have fought in the war and returned home. There are those that have war-related wounds, both physical and mental, and how they deal with these in a world that is no longer involved with combat.

Thirty years after a victory in Vietnam, the United States has become mired in the morass of another conflict overseas and one that looks to be without an end in sight. Moral imperatives designed to attract people into the military appear everywhere with stories of the heroics of the military spread all over the country. These also include the appearance of a group of “super soldiers” that have been modified to be able to do things such as become invisible, fly, run, at very rapid speeds traits that would make the U.S. military almost invincible.

Gallagher has taken an excellent idea to a stage that turns the novel into a chore to read. There are descriptions of feelings, actions, events that simply run one into the other. I found myself taxed to get into the gist of the book and ended up finishing it wondering what was going on. The actions and feelings of the principal characters became muddled and mixed with others in the story.

5/2020 Paul Lane

EMPIRE CITY by Matt Gallagher. Atria Books (April 28, 2020). ISBN: 978-1501177798. 368p.

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A Detective Varg Novel, Book 2

From the publisher:

Perfect for fans of Brad Taylor, Lee Child, and Brad Thor who are looking for their next adventure—UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE has all their exhilarating action but with a twist—Linskey is taking readers back to history’s darkest hours….

A secret assassin. An impossible mission. Failure is not an option. 

1943. With Nazi Germany facing defeat, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring has authorized mass production of the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, a jet-propulsion engine aircraft faster than any plane in the Allies’ arsenal. But British Intelligence has discovered that the Komet is unstable and German scientist Professor Gaerte has been tasked to fix the plane’s flaw. To prevent the Komets from getting airborne, an undercover task force must infiltrate Nazi-occupied France and assassinate Gaerte.

Captain Harry Walsh is one of Britain’s most effective, ruthless, and unorthodox Special Operations Executive agents. Allied with an American OSS and Free French operatives, Harry leads his squad behind enemy lines where he’s reunited with fellow SOE operative—and former lover—Emma Stirling. But as the team proceeds with their mission, an SS officer from Harry’s past pursues the Englishman on a very personal mission of revenge . . .

Well done story of all-out war and how it really affects the people involved in it. Captain Harry Walsh is a member of the British SOE (Special Operations Executive.) His experiences include several cover-up visits to Vichy, France during the Nazi occupation of that country during World War II. He takes the waging of war as something very serious with no quarter asked nor given. In his mind, there can be no gallantry nor any rules other than to win.

He is married to a beautiful woman who stays at home in England during Harry’s visits overseas and is only concerned with acting as she thinks a woman should act. Harry realized shortly after the wedding that it was a mistake but stays on because that is just the thing to do. He is comforted by an affair with Emma Stirling who is also an SOE operator and has clandestine visits to occupied France under her belt.

The story takes place in 1943 during a period when it appears that Germany was beginning to lose the war and Hitler was searching for a way to forestall that taking place. One of the most promising ideas is the development of a jet-propelled plane, which if placed into mass production, would make the German air force almost invincible. Its use against aircraft capable of speeds only half of what the Jet can do would negate all enemy planes making them useless as weapons. Fortunately for the allies, the German jet has design problems which must be corrected before any mass production can take place. But Germany has an engineer who would probably be able to find the problems, fix them and get the new airplane ready for mass production and use against allied aircraft.

The SOE believes that the only solution in this instance is to kill the engineer with that action pushing mass production back several months or longer. Harry Walsh is assigned to go into France where the German engineer will be working and kill him. He will be aided by an American who is a member of the OSS (the precursor of the CIA) and a Frenchman who had worked with the French underground and knows their systems and placements. In addition, Emma Stirling insinuates herself into the group and is included in the event that a woman could be useful in arranging the murder planned.

Linskey has done his research and the conditions described are certainly those that prevailed during the period covered. The Nazis are depicted as cruel conquerors freely executing people in order to prove their points and maintaining complete fear-based control over the conquered population. In addition, he brings up two individuals that were active during the war. The first is Ian Fleming the later author of the James Bond novels whom Linskey indicates probably got his inspiration for the weapons used by Bond from an actual department that served agents of the SOE. The other is Kim Philby, who later in his life is an infamous undercover agent for the Soviet
Union.

The members of the French underground are drawn realistically. They are fearful for both themselves and their families all subject to execution if caught in activities against the conquerors There is no trace of false bravado only the fear that must be conquered if they are to win their country back. The novel ends with the war still on and the invasion of Europe on the horizon. It is also a certainty that further novels are planned around the participation of Harry Walsh and his fellow members of the SOE doing their part in the winning of the war in Europe. And that is definitely not a bad thing.

5/2020 Paul Lane

UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE by Howard Linskey. Pinnacle (April 28, 2020). ISBN: 978-0786046881. 368p.

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A Detective Varg Novel, Book 2

From the publisher:

In the second installment in the best-selling Detective Varg series, Ulf and his team investigate a notorious philanderer—a wolf of a man whose bad reputation may be all bark and no bite.
 
The Department of Sensitive Crimes, renowned for taking on the most obscure and irrelevant cases is always prepared to dive into an investigation, no matter how complex. So when the girlfriend of an infamous author who insists her bad-boy beau is being blackmailed approaches Ulf Varg, the department’s lead detective, Ulf is determined to help. It’s rather difficult to determine what skeletons hide in the hard-living lothario’s closet, though. And while Swedes are notoriously tolerant . . . well, there are limits. Even for the Swedish.

The case requires Ulf’s total concentration, but he finds himself distracted by his ongoing attraction to his co-worker, Anna, whose own fears about her husband’s fidelity are causing a strain on her marriage. When Ulf is also tasked with looking into a group of dealers exporting wolves that seem more canis familiaris than canis lupus, it will require all of his team’s investigative instincts and dogged persistence to put these matters to bed.

This is the second book in a series revolving around a Swedish police squad termed the Department of Sensitive Crimes; an agency that takes on cases that are irrelevant and nonsensible. They then work on them, running them into the ground and arriving at conclusions that fit the crime and provide a good amount of humor for the reader.

In this book, Ulf Varg (the name consists of two words both meaning wolf in Swedish) works on situations that involve the illegal sale of dogs as wolves to zoos and other buyers. He handles a case in which a lady indicates that her boyfriend (a noted second rate author) is being blackmailed, and provides information to a fellow police officer, a lady that he has a crush on about her suspicions that her husband is having an affair.

The cases are worked on by Varg and other members of his department, all of whom are misfits and obviously not indicative of real-life police officers. Conclusions are arrived at after a good deal of tongue in cheek banter by all concerned and a good time by the reader. McCall Smith’s book is not meant to be a deeply engrossing work but a well-done parody and a good time for all. There should be a separate category for this type of book other than a star rating since it is not meant as anything but a good comedy. Still, it is a novel that can be quite enjoyed by those readers interested in a departure and a captivating read.

4/2020 Paul Lane

THE TALENTED MR. VARG by Alexander McCall Smith. Pantheon (April 28, 2020). ISBN: 978-1524748968. 240p.

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From the publisher:

Tense, gripping and with a twist you won’t see coming, The Split is an explosive new stand-alone thriller from Sharon Bolton about a woman on the run.

No matter how far you run, some secrets will always catch up with you…

The remote Antarctic island of South Georgia is about to send off its last boat of the summer – which signifies safety to resident glaciologist Felicity Lloyd.

Felicity lives in fear – fear that her ex-husband Freddie will find her, even out here. She took a job on this isolated island to hide from him, but now that he’s out of prison, having served a term for murder, she knows he won’t give up until he finds her.

But a doctor delving into the background of Felicity and Freddie’s relationship, back in Cambridge, learns that Felicity has been on the edge for a long time. Heading to South Georgia himself to try and get to her first is the only way he can think of to help her.

The author presents a very well done story of the results of a split personality. That is the inhabiting of one body by two or more separate identities that may not be aware of the existence of the others. The setting for the novel includes the Antarctic island of South Georgia, among the most remote and lonely places on the earth.

Felicity is a young woman living a complicated life which has just become more complex when she learns that her ex-husband has just been released from prison where he was incarcerated for murder. She is under the belief that he is coming to kill her and lives in terror that he will find her and do just that.

Felicity works for an agency that administers details involved in working for an island located in Antarctica and has been consulting with a psychiatrist due to the many fears that she confronts. Among these is the possibility that she has killed two people that were inhabitants of a homeless group living on the streets. By coincidence Joe, her psychiatrist, does pro bono work with homeless people trying to get them back into a normal routine.

In spite of the many constraints involved in the doctor-patient relationship between Felicity and Joe, each is beginning to develop feelings for the other. But a separation between the two comes up when Felicity, in order to escape her ex-husband lands a position working on South Georgia for two years.

The second half of the novel involves her ex-husband taking a cruise to Antarctica in order to find her. Felicity, now working on South Georgia, keeps her eyes on cruise ship passenger manifests and when she spots her ex-husband’s name on one docking shortly runs away from her South Georgia base towards an outlying camp about 60 miles out from it.

Bolton has obviously done a great deal of research on glaciers and glacial movements in setting up one of the most exciting final sequences for this book that one will find. The ending is a surprise as indicated in the publisher’s description of the novel’s events, but it is logical coupled with the remainder of the book. And yes, it is certainly an exciting all-nighter and another reason to continue to search for Sharon Bolton’s books.

4/2020 Paul Lane

THE SPLIT by Sharon Bolton. Minotaur Books (April 28, 2020). ISBN: 978-1250300058. 400p.

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Memory Man, Book 6

From the publisher:

Amos Decker — the FBI consultant with a perfect memory — returns to solve a gruesome murder in a booming North Dakota oil town in the newest thriller in David Baldacci’s #1 New York Times bestselling Memory Man series.

When Amos Decker and his FBI colleague Alex Jamison are called to London, North Dakota, they instantly sense that the thriving fracking town is ripe for trouble. The promise of a second gold rush has attracted an onslaught of newcomers all hoping for a windfall, and the community is growing faster than houses can be built. The sudden boom has also brought a slew of problems with it, including drugs, property crimes, prostitution — and now murder.

Decker and Jamison are ordered to investigate the death of a young woman named Irene Cramer, whose body was expertly autopsied and then dumped in the open — which is only the beginning of the oddities surrounding the case. As Decker and Jamison dig into Irene’s life, they are shocked to discover that the woman who walked the streets by night as a prostitute was a teacher for a local religious sect by day — a sect operating on land once owned by a mysterious government facility that looms over the entire community.

London is a town replete with ruthless business owners, shady government officials, and religious outsiders, all determined to keep their secrets from coming out. When other murders occur, Decker will need all of his extraordinary memory and detective skills, and the assistance of a surprising ally, to root out a killer and the forces behind Cramer’s death. . . before the boom town explodes.

David Baldacci has many positive qualities in his profession as a novel writer. Possibly the most outstanding of these is his ability to create a wide variety of characters for his books and make them come alive. He has the knack to hold onto the various natures assigned and keep them reacting in the unique manner such types would always exhibit.

“Walk the Wire” brings together two different sets of the characters created. The first group involves Amos Decker and his partner Alex Jamison. Decker is a huge bear of a man; tall and weighing close to 300 pounds. He began a career as a pro football player but was injured in a practice. Physically knocked into a coma he finally came to and found that he had somehow gained a photographic memory as well as distorted views of various colors. He uses his unusual skills to advantage in his job as an FBI agent.

The other set of characters are Will Robie and Jessica Reel. They both are professional assassins employed by the U.S. government and very skillful in their work. One of the novels featuring Will and Jessica had them meet when each was in receipt of an order to kill the other. Great way to start a relationship, right?

Amos and Alex are sent to the town of London, North Dakota to investigate a murder. London is at the center of the oil drilling industry known as fracking and due to the boom this industry has created is very much in the wild character of Alaskan towns during the gold rush of the 19th century. A young woman was killed and then literally autopsied and left in an open field with her entrails outside the body. It appeared that whoever did the job knew how to do an autopsy. While horrible in its aspect, Amos wonders why two FBI agents were assigned to look into the killing when it should have really fallen into the jurisdiction of the local police.

Trust Baldacci to supply some fascinating answers. He incorporates the arrival of Robie and Reel with the existence of an air force base watching for missiles launched by enemies of the U.S., the private preserve of a cult, and two wealthy individuals fighting for more and more property in the boomtown. More murders with a slew of suspects and the other factors mentioned create the typical David Baldacci book one fine all-nighter, and of course, a five-star novel.

4/2020 Paul Lane

WALK THE WIRE by David Baldacci. Grand Central Publishing (April 21, 2020). ISBN: 978-1538761465. 432p.

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From the publisher:

What makes Simon Fitch so perfect?

-He knows all her favorite foods, music, and movies.
-Her son adores him. He was there when she needed him most.
-He anticipates her every need.
-He would never betray her like her first husband.

The perfect husband. He checks all the boxes.

The question is, why?

Nina Garrity learned the hard way that her missing husband, Glen, had been leading a double life with another woman. But with Glen gone―presumably drowned while fishing on his boat―she couldn’t confront him about the affair or find closure to the life he blew apart.

Now, a year and a half later, Nina has found love again and hopes she can put her shattered world back together. Simon, a widower still grieving the death of his first wife, thinks he has found his dream girl in Nina, and his charm and affections help break through to a heart hardened by betrayal. Nina’s teenage son, Connor, embraces Simon as the father he wishes his dad could have been, while her friends see a different side to him, and they aren’t afraid to use the word obsession.

Nina works hard to bridge the divide that’s come between her daughter and Simon. She wants so badly to believe her life is finally getting back on track, but she’ll soon discover that the greatest danger to herself and her children are the lies people tell themselves.

D.J. Palmer is a pen name for Daniel Palmer, an author of many highly engrossing novels and the son of Michael Palmer, who was noted as a writer of engrossing medical thrillers. In this current book, Palmer skillfully introduces several flawed characters that are more realistic than many protagonists that have no faults. His people are faced with an overwhelming crisis and working to face them while in the process of convincing themselves that they are correct in what they are doing in spite of the pressure of others.

Nina Garrity married with two children is faced with the desertion of her husband Glen and also the possible fact that he may have left to be with another woman. They have had their differences as do most couples but had stayed together. Almost two years after her husband has left, she accepts the advances of Simon Fitch, a man that coincidentally teaches at the middle school that her daughter attends. Her reason for accepting Simon’s advances is that in spite of never finding her husband’s body, she considers herself a widow. Glen, her husband, had apparently drowned while out fishing when the boat he was on was discovered with Daisy, the family dog, sitting covered with blood and muddied up.

Simon convinces Nina that he recognizes that it is too soon to marry, but suggests they buy a house together and move into it in order to move towards becoming a family. In spite of the advice against this move as being too soon by both Nina’s parents and two of her best friends, they move in. Nina’s son is a football player at the school and immediately becomes friendly with Simon. Her daughter does not, quickly finding fault with him and claiming that she has secretly seen him with a very dark look on his face that frightens her. Simon on his part begins to court Nina in earnest to solidify their relationship by getting married.

The actions and reactions of the persona towards events is a major factor of the novel making it a great read and one continuing the Palmer family’s legacy of superb books. Very well done.

4/2020 Paul Lane

THE NEW HUSBAND by D.J. Palmer. St. Martin’s Press (April 14, 2020). ISBN: 978-1250107497. 384p.

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Sigma Force Novels, Book 15

From the publisher:

To save the world and our future, Sigma Force must embark on a dangerous odyssey into an ancient past whose horrors are all too present in this page-turning thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author James Rollins that combines cutting-edge science, historical mystery, mythology, and pulse-pounding action.

For eons, the city of Troy—whose legendary fall was detailed in Homer’s Iliad—was believed to be myth, until archaeologists in the nineteenth century uncovered its ancient walls buried beneath the sands. If Troy was real, how much of Homer’s twin tales of gods and monsters, curses and miracles—The Iliad and The Odyssey—could also be true and awaiting discovery?

In the frozen tundra of Greenland, a group of modern-day researchers stumble on a shocking find: a medieval ship buried a half-mile below the ice. The ship’s hold contains a collection of even older artifacts—tools of war—dating back to the Bronze Age. Inside the captain’s cabin is a magnificent treasure that is as priceless as it is miraculous: a clockwork gold map imbedded with an intricate silver astrolabe. The mechanism was crafted by a group of Muslim inventors—the Banū Mūsā brothers—considered by many to be the Da Vincis of the Arab world—brilliant scientists who inspired Leonardo’s own work.

Once activated, the moving map traces the path of Odysseus’s famous ship as it sailed away from Troy. But the route detours as the map opens to reveal a fiery river leading to a hidden realm underneath the Mediterranean Sea. It is the subterranean world of Tartarus, the Greek name for Hell. In mythology, Tartarus was where the wicked were punished and the monstrous Titans of old, imprisoned.

When word of Tartarus spreads—and of the cache of miraculous weapons said to be hidden there—tensions explode in this volatile region where Turks battle Kurds, terrorists wage war, and civilians suffer untold horrors. The phantasmagoric horrors found in Homer’s tales are all too real—and could be unleashed upon the world. Whoever possesses them can use their awesome power to control the future of humanity.

Now, Sigma Force must go where humans fear to tread. To prevent a tyrant from igniting a global war, they must cross the very gates of Hell.

James Rollins has created an elite, secret U.S. government operating unit known as the Sigma Force. His books about them tell stories of daring deeds in situations that are more than a little beyond normal activities and touch on the fantastic.

In the afterward, the author presents various facts that he indicates bring proof that the story is based on his interpretation of what did occur. For many years it was thought that the great poet Homer’s poems, the Illiad and the Odessey, which tell the story of a major prehistoric war taking place in the Mediterranean area and involving the city of Troy, were not true. In the 19th century, archaeologists digging beneath the sands discovered what were the remains of Troy. If this were true, how much more of Homer’s poetry was also based on fact.

In a dig in Greenland, a modern day group of climatologists and archaeologists discover an ancient ship buried a half-mile beneath the frozen tundra. Even more astonishing is the discovery of artifacts held on the ship dating further back to the Bronze age. An ancient map discovered with these items shows the path of the ship in prehistoric days outlining the travels of Odysseys returning from Troy to his homeland. It also shows the site of what in modern days is called Hell. When word of this find spreads war escalates between ancient enemies pitting Kurds against Turks and terrorists gaining traction in their fight against the world. The ancient day miracles held for safekeeping in “hell” cause Sigma force to journey to the possible site of that city and attempt to prevent a tyrant using these items from taking over the world.

The novels revolving around Sigma force are all action-oriented and blend more than a little of the surreal into the story. In that sense, nothing is different in this current novel by Rollins. If based on fact or not, the books are all filled with excitement and action guaranteed to keep the reader glued to the pages. The events depicted are all outlined and made part of a mesmerizing plot that creates a fascinating read.

4/2020 Paul Lane

THE LAST ODYSSEY by James Rollins. William Morrow (March 24, 2020). ISBN: 978-0062892898. 464p.

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From the publisher:

Framed and on the run for his life, a former Secret Service agent discovers how far some men will go to grasp the highest office in the land in this electrifying tale from the author of The Night Agent—a propulsive political thriller reminiscent of the best early Baldacci and Grisham novels.

As a Secret Service agent, Nick Averose spent a decade protecting the most powerful men and women in America and developed a unique gift: the ability to think like an assassin. Now, he uses that skill in a little-known but crucial job. As a “red teamer,” he poses as a threat, testing the security around our highest officials to find vulnerabilities—before our enemies can. He is a mock killer, capable of slipping past even the best defenses.

His latest assignment is to assess the security surrounding the former CIA director at his DC area home. But soon after he breaches the man’s study, the home’s inner sanctum, Nick finds himself entangled in a vicious crime that will shake Washington to its foundations—as all the evidence points to Nick.

Nick knows he’s the perfect scapegoat. But who is framing him, and why? To clear his name, he must find the truth—a search that leads to a dark conspiracy whose roots stretch back decades. The prize is the most powerful position in the world: the Oval Office.

To save himself and the people he loves, Nick must stop the men who rule Washington before they bury him along with their secrets.

Nick Averose was in his previous occupation a Secret Service agent dedicating his talents to safeguarding the lives of the rich and powerful in the United States. He developed, through his experience, the ability to think like the assassins he was guarding against. Today Nick is his own boss and sells his services to those same people he guarded. The difference now is that he is hired to find holes in the systems set up as protection by these people and suggest ways to change those to a more secure setup.

The story opens as Nick is attempting to bypass the systems set up by the former director of the CIA to protect himself. He is successful, and then when about to brief the man on what he has found and how to fix it discovers that individual unconscious. Nick leaves and tries to resurrect all the material he was issued to assure he was not blamed for the attempt but discovers that it has all disappeared. Nick then realizes that he has been set up to take the blame for the actual murder of the ex CIA director.

Questions of why he has been set up and by whom are answered during a fascinating read which continues Matthew Quirk’s excellent reputation as the author of carefully thought out and well-plotted novels. The subsidiary characters in the novel include Nick’s wife, his office assistant and the woman that came to his office to hire him to try and penetrate the defense of Malcom Widener, the target of his action.

Quirk utilizes his opinion of the real transition of power in US politics by painting a picture of closed-door sessions, the use of massive amounts of money to solidify deals and the ideas presented to the electorate actually casting votes in elections. The reason given for the actual killing of Widener is tied into the author’s opinion of real politics and adds to the draw of the book.

4/2020 Paul Lane

HOUR OF THE ASSASSIN by Matthew Quirk. William Morrow (March 31, 2020). ISBN: 978-0062875495. 352p.

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