From Publishers Weekly
In British veteran Egleton's latest compelling thriller to feature Peter Ashton (after 2001's The Honey Trap), the troubles never seem to end for the bright, affable secret agent, who has been cashiered from the SIS because his cover was blown in court. After the powers-that-be relocate and assign new identities to Ashton, his wife, also an ex-SIS agent, and their two young children, Ashton soon learns that their new personae have been compromised, probably by someone within his own former organization. In addition, IRA terrorists are out to get him in revenge for his self-defense killing of one of their members. To protect his family, Ashton decides to run alone. In a neat twist, his SIS superiors bring Ashton back for his experience in dealing with Russian (once Soviet) officials, one of whom has defected to the CIA. Now the Russians are killing each other and want him dead, too. Egleton introduces dozens of substantive, credible characters, but thanks to his skill at delineating character through social and professional motivation, readers should be able to keep track of who's whom without undue effort. As implausible as the action may be, dialogue that rings true and homely details of trips on London's Underground and the roads of England and America bolster the novel's verisimilitude. This is an elegant, spirited adventure story by a nimble author who's an expert at portraying bureaucratic intrigue and counterespionage.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
For many years, Peter Ashton was a successful, if unorthodox and controversial agent for Britain's SIS. But he was sent out to pasture by the agency when his cover was blown by his own government and now he is trying to live a quiet new life in hiding with his family. But someone amongst Ashton's old enemies is not content to let bygones be bygones and breaches SIS security in an attempt to locate the former agent's hiding place. When his former home is blown up, Ashton realizes that his SIS colleagues aren't going to protect him and that the safest guard for his family is himself.
At the same time, an assassination in Russia leaves an old friend of Ashton's running from the mafiozniki. With a price on her head and no safe place to hide, she is desperate for Ashton's help. But with no help from the SIS and his old contacts denying that they've ever heard of him, Ashton is out in the cold and barely able to stay one step ahead of the terrorists out to retire him for good. It will require all of his resourcefulness and skill to uncover the identity of the person or group who are out for revenge, and protect his friend, family, and ultimately himself.
