Summer adventure, suspense and mayhem …

 

Slingshot
A Spycatcher Novel

By Matthew Dunn
William Morrow. $25.99 (Rating: Very Good)

Matthew Dunn puts his years of experience as a top-level field officer for M16, the British intelligence service, to good use in this thriller. The third installment of Dunn’s bestselling “Spycatcher” series finds Will Cochrane, who doubles as a spy for both the CIA and M16, facing his most treacherous assignment ever.

A document that outlines a clandestine agreement between Russia, Germany and the United States has suddenly gone missing in Europe. The contents of the “Slingshot” agreement, as it has been dubbed, could lead to the genocide of scores of people if it falls into the wrong hands.

Assigned the task of retrieving the document and neutralizing the traitor who snatched it, Cochrane’s search takes him from Poland and Russia to the Black Forest of Germany where he uncovers a doomsday scenario that is truly imaginable in its scope.

As you would expect, Cochrane will again be up against an agent as talented as he is. A rogue ex-Stasi assassin, Kronos has never failed on a mission and his task is to eliminate anyone who knows the truth about Slingshot. Obviously, something is going to have to give here and Cochrane, although evenly matched, knows that under no circumstances can he be bested by this worth adversary.

Fast paced with plenty of twists and surprises, “Slingshot” is an ideal read for the beach or while traveling this summer. Once into this tale of intrigue, you’ll totally forget any flight delays or find those lazy afternoons basking in the sun just melt away.

 

The Barbed Crown

By William Dietrich
Harper. $16.99 (Rating-Excellent)

Ethan Gage is back for a sixth historical adventure in this series that unfolds against a backdrop of European history during the late 1700s and early1800s.

Although he once fought with Napoleon in Egypt, Ethan is now bent on revenge against Bonaparte for the kidnapping of his son, Harry, and for nearly killing his wife, Astiza. Smuggled into France, the American is determined to derail his former friend’s plans to take Europe. Recruited by other foreign agents to stop Bonaparte, Ethan infiltrates the French Court and tries to sabotage Napoleon’s coronation but that plan doesn’t succeed.

Fleeing for his life, Ethan barely makes it out of France and across the channel to England. There he joins a motley but interesting group of renegades including Robert Fulton, Sir William Congreve and smuggler Tom Johnstone. As France and Great Britain square off and the Battle of Trafalgar unfolds, this indomitable hero finds himself once again right in the center of the conflict. And, as usual, he’ll requite himself admirably and continue to make a little history.

If you enjoy historical thrillers with action heroes reminiscent of Indiana Jones, this series is a must read. Ethan Gage could teach Jones a thing or two!

The Eye of God
A Sigma Force Novel

By James Rollins
William Morrow. $27.99 (Rating-Excellent)

A comet dubbed ISON that is expected to light the evening skies later this year, a group of macabre artifacts that include a boat model made of human bones, a skull scrawled with ancient Aramaic and a book bound in human skin are all woven into the plot of this Sigma Force thriller.

The crash of a U.S. military satellite carrying classified equipment that is investigating the possibility of “dark energy” and how it relates to the universe’s creation must be retrieved from the wilds of Mongolia.

At the same time, a mysterious parcel arrives at the Vatican containing material linked to Genghis Khan and his lost tomb that reputedly contains not only vast treasures but also information about a lost ancient empire.

A provocative and suspenseful action novel which combines scientific theories and fascinating historical and religious facts with a flight or two of speculative imagination, “The Eye of God” is another in a long list of amazing thrillers that has often favorably compared James Rollins’ work to that of Michael Crichton and Clive Cussler.

 

If You Were Here

By Alafair Burke
Harper. $25.99 (Rating-Good)

This standalone thriller is the author’s most autobiographical novel to date. McKenna, a writer for a New York magazine, is investigating the story of a woman who pulled a teenager off the subway tracks, averting a tragedy, and then disappeared.

As she seeks to uncover the identity of the heroine, McKenna realizes that the woman may actually be a good friend of hers who vanished ten years earlier.

The more she searches for the Good Samaritan, the more certain the reporter is that this is indeed her friend. Of course, the question becomes why the disappearance and, more to the point, what secrets is this woman hiding?

An intriguing story, “If You Were Here” is a change of pace for this talented writer but her many fans won’t be disappointed. This is a first class thriller that will keep you guessing right to its exciting conclusion.

 

The Heist

By Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
Bantam. $28 (Rating-Very Good)

The first in a new series that is co-authored by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg, “The Heist” introduces a very unlikely team of investigators. Kate O’Hare is a FBI Special Agent who has made a name for herself as a tenacious and ambitious woman who should go far in their chosen line of work.

Nicholas Fox is an accomplished con man who has a reputation for conducting elaborate and successful scams on some very high-profile individuals. Fox has been leading O’Hare on a merry chase but just when it looks like the game is up and she’s got him cornered, he all but turns the table on his long time nemesis. Nicholas convinces Kate they’d be much better as a team rather than adversaries. So be it!

To test this somewhat dubious premise, the duo goes after a corrupt financial person holed up on a private island in Indonesia. This initial assignment will not only demand all the skills both individuals bring to the table but it will also determine if this is a partnership that has any “legs”. In between the breakneck action, brushes with pirates and the ridiculous gorging on Toblerone, a bond will be formed. But the question is, “Will it last?”.

Let’s hope so because these two folks are a hoot!