From Publishers Weekly
In his first book in six years, Hailey ( Airport ; Hotel ; etc.) links the infamous Medellin drug cartel with the violent revolutionaries of Sendero Luminoso --"the Shining Path"--a Maoist terrorist group that in this scorcher kidnaps the family of CBA-TV news anchor Crawford Sloane. After a slow, creaky start, and despite a pasteboard cast of guerillas who shoot off more stilted phrases than bullets, the story moves with speed and heat as Crawford's valiant wife Jessica, her young son Nicky and flinty father-in-law are smuggled in coffins to Peru, then marched to a steaming, remote jungle village. Back in the States, heavy-weight correspondent Harry Partridge, Jessica's old lover, spearheads an investigation that the network's slimy parent company, Globanic Industries, tries to hamper. Gripping behind-the-scenes action at CBA-TV and a vivid primer on terrorist tactics pepper the boiling pot. Credibility gaps in the final chapters are paved over by sheer, reckless drama. Literary Guild main selection; Reader's Digest Condensed Book Club selection.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
For years superstar anchorman Crawford Sloane and legendary correspondent Harry Partridge have been professional and personal rivals: yet it is to Partridge that Sloane turns when the woman they both love, Sloane's wife, is kidnapped by terrorists. This latest offering from Arthur Hailey, his first novel since Strong Medicine (LJ 10/15/84), follows the winning formula that has made his previous books best sellers. By pairing exhaustive, penetrating research with an exciting and taut story, Hailey gives us a fresh behind-the-scenes look at a complex and topical industry. So what if characterization is not one of Hailey's strengths, or if it's hard to swallow the coincidence that a rich, suburban housewife who gets kidnapped just happens to have taken lessons in CQB (close quarters battle) classes that sure come in handy in captivity. A winner just the same. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/89 . -- Lydia Burruel Johnson, Mesa P.L., Ariz.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
by Arthur Hailey
