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The prize in the title of this novel is one of the top awards in the world.  The Nobel prize to be exact.  It represents not only the monetary reward involved, but is one that  brings world wide renown for the recipient.   It is no wonder that it is a prize sought after by the people possibly  in line for it with every means possible. Cooper’s book features one attempt to win the prize and all that it means with a titanic discovery in the medical field.

Pam Weller is a research associate at a large private laboratory who has been working at finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease.  Logically following protocol she leads the group she is working with into discovering a substance that arrests Alzheimer’s and actually reverses it in early stage cases. Decidedly Nobel Prize area and which will allow Pam to get tenure and promotion at her work as well as notice for those in her group.

Eric Prescott is head of his own lab and has been working on achieving success against Alzheimer’s with the idea of the Nobel prize and the world wide fame that goes with it.  He hears that Pam is getting ready to publish positive results on her findings and arranges a meeting with one of Pam’s assistants.  The results of that meeting are the meat and bones of the book.  How far will Prescott go in order to ascertain the Nobel prize for himself?  The answer makes for an interesting, riveting read and an introduction to the competitive world of medical science.  Very well done.

1/18 Paul Lane

THE PRIZE by Geoffrey M. Cooper. BookBaby (January 15, 2018).  ISBN 978-1543912173. 240p.

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Simon Riske, the principal character in Christopher Reich’s latest novel, has had a checkered past, to say the least. This includes imprisonment and the spending of months in solitary confinement as punishment for refusing to divulge information sought by the police.

Out of prison, he currently owns a garage in London, specializing in expensive limited edition cars. He does have another occupation which involves acting as a freelance industrial spy. He is hired to perform small scale jobs for banks, insurance companies and the British Secret Service.

The action starts when he is hired by the CIA to look into the matter of a lot of money and a confidential letter stolen by an old acquaintance of Riske’s: one Tino Colluzzi . Colluzzi stole a huge amount of cash from a Saudi Arabian prince and with it a letter hidden in a suitcase that is supposed to have the power to upset the balance of power in the western world.

Riske accepts the job to look into the matter of the theft of money and the letter when he learns that Colluzzi was the thief. Tino was once Riske’s friend and ally until Simon took the full rap for a crime both committed with Colluzzi getting away without any punishment.

Simon’s first stop is going to France, the scene of the crime, where he is matched up against his will with a female French police officer, Nicolette Perez, who has been assigned against her will to work with Simon and keep him on the straight and narrow. Nicolette is a tough, no holds barred police officer whose only interest seems to be in doing her job as best as she can. She also happens to be a pretty girl and it is no surprise that sparks fly between the two in the course of their joint investigation in spite of initial antagonism.

Another member of the cast involved is a Russian female assassin who is assigned to kill Riske at all costs and goes about trying to complete this assignment with a great deal of skill and dedication. The novel uses all these factors in a fascinating story of spy versus spy. What is in the letter that seemingly has the power to upset the balance of western power? Is the cash recovered? An all nighter it certainly is and does leave the reader with the definite feeling that this is the first of several novels featuring Riske.  Look forward to that.

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A Pike Logan Thriller 

Former Delta Force Officer Brad Taylor returns with another novel involving Pike Logan, Pike’s wife Jennifer Cahill and the rest of the mission impossible group known as the Taskforce. Col. Taylor’s formula for success is quite simple. Pike and company are tasked with completing a job assigned to them by their controllers; a top secret group at the apex of the U.S. government which includes the president. Their task is always to work outside of the United States per their charter (as it happens not always per Pike.)

This time the job is a simple one merely to determine whether or not a merchant in the Israeli Diamond Exchange is involved in a scheme that could potentially embarrass the state of Israel. As we know from being drawn into Col. Taylor’s novels centering on the Taskforce nothing is ever simple and the plots always delineate Pike’s ability to think and act outside of the box.  An American arms dealer may or may not be attempting to sell components of nuclear weapons to the highest bidder which is up to Pike and Company to determine.

At the same time characters from a previous Taskforce novel appear and alter the Taskforce’s  mission to include aiding them. These are former mosad members Shoshana and Aaron now husband and wife and working as independent contractors. Aaron gets himself captured by the people he is tracking for his current assignment and Shosana goes after him to get him away from their enemies. She is by nature a killing machine with I’d hate to have her coming after me personality. The Israelis are drawn into Pike’s assignment due to the probability of their goals overlapping. And, guess what they overlap.

As in all the Pike Logan books action is mercurial and combat situations described by a long time veteran of such actions vivid. Scenes shift from Israel to south Africa. A planned coup in a small African nation becomes a real factor in the plot and the place of the Taskforce of importance to the group fitting in neatly to the story.

Action, action and more action is the keynote to the plot and will be in future novels featuring Pike and Company.  The stories are always interesting, even though similiar, and do draw in a faithful following.

1/18 Paul Lane

OPERATOR DOWN by Brad Taylor. Dutton (January 9, 2018).  ISBN 978-1101984819. 464p.