Griffin, the veteran author of military-themed thrillers, once again proves that the same old thing can sometimes be just what readers want. The latest Presidential Agent novel is written in exactly the same tough-fisted style, with exactly the same sort of shorthand characterizations and hard-edged dialogue, as the novels that came before it. The story, too, is typically involved: a series of assassinations leads Presidential Agent Charlie Castillo to believe that his own name appears on the assassin’s list of victims. But can Charlie and his band of operatives stop the killings in time? Oh, and what about those two high-level Russian intelligence officers who claim they want to defect to the States but only to Charlie personally? Do they really know who’s building weapons of mass destruction, or are they trying to sell Charlie a bill of goods? Griffin’s formula is straightforward: set up a bunch of obstacles, and let us watch Charlie knock ’em down one at a time. His novels promise action, suspense, and rousing entertainment, and they never fail to deliver. --David Pitt
Description:
From Publishers Weekly
In bestseller Griffin's gung-ho fifth presidential agent novel (after The Shooters), the U.S. president assigns Lt. Col. Charley Castillo, a member of the Office of Organizational Analysis, a special task—to track down the terrorists who murdered an American diplomat in Buenos Aires, Argentina. When Castillo's inquiries lead him to a pair of defecting Russian spies, they offer information about an Iranian-run bioweapons factory hidden in the Congo. Readers who want exciting accounts of desperate battles have come to the wrong place. Griffin excels in describing the planning and the bureaucratic tussles that have to occur before the first bomb goes off. He understands the psychology and motivations of military and clandestine service officers. While he paints an enticing, if overly idealized, portrait of loyal, capable people drawn to others of their kind, realism isn't his strong suit. Still, Griffin's many fans will be rewarded. (Jan.)
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From Booklist
Griffin, the veteran author of military-themed thrillers, once again proves that the same old thing can sometimes be just what readers want. The latest Presidential Agent novel is written in exactly the same tough-fisted style, with exactly the same sort of shorthand characterizations and hard-edged dialogue, as the novels that came before it. The story, too, is typically involved: a series of assassinations leads Presidential Agent Charlie Castillo to believe that his own name appears on the assassin’s list of victims. But can Charlie and his band of operatives stop the killings in time? Oh, and what about those two high-level Russian intelligence officers who claim they want to defect to the States but only to Charlie personally? Do they really know who’s building weapons of mass destruction, or are they trying to sell Charlie a bill of goods? Griffin’s formula is straightforward: set up a bunch of obstacles, and let us watch Charlie knock ’em down one at a time. His novels promise action, suspense, and rousing entertainment, and they never fail to deliver. --David Pitt