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Darby Thorne, a young college student, has been called by her sister to rush home in order to see her mother before the lady passes away.  We meet up with Darby as she is caught in an immense snow blizzard while driving into the Colorado mountains to get to her mother in time to say goodbye. She happens upon a rest area and is forced by the weather to drive into it and take shelter with four other people in the area’s building.

Anxious to tell her sister that she was stopped by the storm, she leaves the building in an attempt to find a source of a possible signal on her cell phone.

Unable to get a signal to use her phone and while walking back to the shelter, she happens upon the vehicle of one of the other people caught by the storm.  Looking through the window by chance she sees a young girl held in a cage on the inside. The realization that she has stumbled on a kidnapping galvanizes her thoughts and succeeding actions in attempting to free the captive and gives us one of the most exciting novels I’ve read in a long time.

Which of the four people currently in the rest area is the kidnapper and how Darby can get help from the others in effecting the girl’s release is the crux of the matter. Adams moves from one set of circumstances to another in developing the situation for the reader and arriving at the conclusion.

We are drawn into the story and along with Darby change our minds about what is happening and where it will go several times in enjoying a well done novel. A definite incentive for any reader to be looking for other books by the author.

1/19 Paul Lane

NO EXIT by Taylor Adams. William Morrow (January 15, 2019). ISBN 978-0062875655. 352p.

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The novel is a perfect portrait of two people married to each other and facing a major crisis in their lives. First there is Susannah, a young and still very beautiful woman. She had been married, quite happily to a man that was older than her. He became the father of a boy with her but unfortunately passed away shortly after the child’s birth.

Susannah has the luck to attract an interesting and intelligent young man at a party that her boss throws for members of the New York art community. Max heard about the affair and decides to try and crash it in order to get contacts to further a career he is working on in the art world.

Susannah is helping her boss handle the details of the party, sees Max and makes a play for him. which turns out to be successful. Than with the help from her boss Max advances his career and manages to get a good teaching position with a Vermont based university. The couple and the boy are happy to leave New York and move to the area with the added luck of finding a beautiful home near the school.

A perfect life becomes opened to them when it is suddenly spoiled by the appearance of a strange note pinned to the front door. The note is not addressed nor signed but says,”I KNOW WHO YOU ARE.” Both Max and Susannah are devastated by the note since each has secrets that they want to keep to themselves and not share with anyone else. The novel brings the reader into the minds of both and develops a scenario that keeps the reader glued to the book awaiting the answers. These are not evident, although logical based upon the clues developed during the read.

1/19 Paul Lane

THE PERFECT LIAR by Thomas Christopher Greene. St. Martin’s Press (January 15, 2019). ISBN 978-1250128218. 288p.

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Peter Sutherland’s father was an agent with the FBI and Peter always looked up to him, wanting nothing less than to join that elite group when he was old enough. Unfortunately, his father’s reputation was destroyed when he was suspected of selling secrets to the Russians. The man’s place within the FBI was destroyed, his reputation tarnished and he eventually died with the shame of the disgrace hanging over him.

Peter still manages to enter the bureau but finds that the taint of his father’s alleged crime hangs heavily on him. It appears that he does not have a chance for any sort of a meaningful promotional opportunity when he is tapped to work in the White House situation room, manning a phone during the evening. His job consists of answering the phone if it ever rings, listening for a special code phrase and passing the call onto one of his two supervisors.

Bored to tears with the complete inactivity Peter still comes to work every night he is assigned to until one night at l:05 a.m the phone rings. A woman identifying herself as Rose, and completely rattled, indicates that her Aunt and Uncle have been killed and the murderer is still in the house. Peter reacts quickly, giving Rose instructions on getting away from the house, meanwhile setting up her rescue via the Secret Service and the D.C. police.

By involving himself with Rose’s predicament, Peter is thrown into a conspiracy that is years old and reaches to the very top of the U.S. government. To save his country Peter must begin by bending all rules and coming to the realization that anyone; even the U.S. president, could be a mole involved in destroying the government. Quirk shifts gears frequently and the reader will change opinions often. Even Rose, with whom Peter manages to begin a romance, is suspect due to her overly calm attitude and apparently more than professional reactions to events.

Character portrayal is well developed by the author, and the reader will get to know all the personnel, their thoughts, reactions and emotions to events being described. Peter is not superman; he can be hurt, could even be killed and wonders if his straying from policy will do more harm than good for him. I have had the good fortune to have read other Matthew Quirk novels in the past; all are engrossing, well done with plots and events built in that stand out and make sure that his books are sought after. I am certainly on line for his next outing and have no qualms about recommending the same to any reader looking for a great read.

1/19 Paul Lane

THE NIGHT AGENT by Matthew Quirk. William Morrow (January 15, 2019). ISBN 978-0062875464. 432p.

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