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Mystery/Thriller Book Reviews
Page Two of Two
The Last Spymaster
by Gayle Lynds
St. Martin's Press, June, 2006
Hardcover, 464 pages
ISBN: 0312301596
Ordering information:
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Elaine Hunter is a CIA operative known as a "hunter" - someone who
tracks down and apprehends people who don't want to be found, such as
rogue CIA agents and master criminals. Elaine is given the job of tracking
down legendary CIA Cold War spy Jay Tice, who has somehow managed to escape
from a maximum security federal prison. The brilliant Tice was convicted of being a double agent at the end of the Cold War and is now despised as being a traitor.
Elaine's specialty is getting inside the heads of those she hunts, so she
gets to work learning all she can about the brilliant spymaster. But the more she
learns about Tice, the less she understands why Tice turned traitor. As she gets
closer to Tice, she suddenly finds herself surrounded by a new set of players on the
field, many of whom seem set on eliminating both her and Tice. On the run,
cut off from her agency, Elaine must show her true mettle as she tracks down
a master spy and tries to stop a new terrorist plot of breathtaking proportions.
Ms. Lynds adroitly melds the world of international politics with the dark world
of espionage in this gripping thriller. The spy's spy himself, Charles Jay Tice,
is a fascinating enigma -- and easily steals every scene he is in, as much with
his tradecraft as his mercurial personality. Elaine Cunningham is a cool, collected
professional who finds her preconceived notions turned upside down. The
action scenes are breathtaking and the characters have substance and depth.
Gayle Lynds is the heir apparent to Robert Ludlum's crown as the premier writer
of international spy thrillers today.
--Claire E. White
The Last Cato
by Matilde Asensi
Rayo, May, 2006
Hardcover: 464 pages
ISBN: 0060828579
Ordering information:
Amazon.com
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Amazon.co.uk
Brilliant paleographer Dr. Ottavia Salina is the head of the
Vatican's Restoration and Paleography Laboratory, which is located
in the Vatican's Classified Archives. She is also a nun, otherwise she couldn't work
in the secret parts of the Vatican. Dr. Salina is called in to consult
by Vatican officials on a puzzling case: all over Europe, sacred Catholic
relics are being stolen from secure locations. In addition, an Ethiopian
man was found dead, his body covered in strange tattoos and "scarifications."
The man had
in his possession three pieces of wood which belonged to the True Cross on
which Christ was crucified. Dr. Salinas is ordered to investigate the meaning
of the scarifications and is assigned two other team members:
Kaspar Glauser-Roist, a laconic member of the Swiss Guard, and Farag Boswell,
an attractive and brilliant Egyptian archeologist. The three set out on a global
chase to find the mysterious group called the Staurofilakes which is
headed up by a leader known as the Cato. Using clues contained in
Dante's Divine Comedy as their guide, the three find themselves
on a grueling and exciting quest to find and expose the Staurofilakes
and to recover the pieces of the True Cross.
A bestselling author in Europe, Matilde Asensi is a new find for
American readers. The Last Cato is an intellectual thriller which
criss-crosses the globe. Dr. Salina is a fascinating character: she's a nun with
a strong faith, yet her intellect pushes her to question everything around her, including
church dogma and the cherished truths that she has believed about her large and
powerful family. A thinking person's thriller, The Last Cato has
excitement, intrigue, danger -- and even some romance, making it the perfect
read for those who are impatient for Dan Brown's next book to make its appearance.
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