From Publishers Weekly
The best spy novels function both within the real world and deep inside a convincing world all their own. This disappointing novel from the usually excellent Egleton (Blood Money) fails on both counts. Secret Intelligence Service agent Peter Ashton, always willing to bend the rules, has more reason than ever to push the envelope when one of the three people found dead in a London psychiatrist's office is discovered to have been using the identity of Peter's wife, Harriet. Also an occasional operative, Harriet is alive and well, but the SIS believes the impostor took advantage of a security lapse in a database containing agents' personal files. From there, the investigation proceeds through an unruly tangle of coincidences and dead ends. It's revealed that the murdered psychiatrist is related to a powerful Hindu terrorist, and that the dead woman who pretended to be Harriet is related to a Russian diplomat. The unsecured database serves as a possible hit list for the provisional IRA, while a middleman between a computer hacker and the Hindu dies with his head placed on a busy train track. Spy craft requires a certain amount of facelessness, but the unrelenting wash of characterless operatives here makes for bland reading. Moreover, the villain's motivations are never satisfactorily explored. Despite some good action sequences that will remind readers of vintage Egleton, this latest novel from the veteran author produces more sound than substance. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The problem of what to do with SIS (Secret Intelligence Service) once the Cold War ended has been nicely solved by Egleton in his latest book. Here he brings back Peter Ashton, Grade 1 Intelligence Officer, General Duties (Warning Shot), to solve the triple murder of three women, one of whom is identified as Harriet Ashton, Peter's wife. The convoluted, sometimes almost nonexistent trail of evidence leads to India, where a plot is being implemented to stir up tension between that nation and Pakistan. When there is another murder, the IRA and INLA (a militant splinter group of Sinn Fein) get involved. Add to this a couple of troublemakers from Russia who see a chance to seize power and make some money, and Egleton has a perfect vehicle to bring this novel of political intrigue into the new millennium. Ashton works with a black female detective sergeant from Special Branch and his driver (a former member of the royal military police) to bring justice to the world. This powerful book by a highly skilled writer has enough suspense, plot twists, action, and excitement to keep anyone enthralled. For all fiction collections.AJo Ann Vicarel, Cleveland Heights-University Heights P.L.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
