From Publishers Weekly
A premise budding with possibilities fails to bear fruit in this disappointing new thriller from newsman-turned-novelist Collins (Maze). The premise is that, for decades, two federal agents are unwittingly set against one another over the CIA's role in the nation's growing drug problem and the Reagan and Bush administrations' covert relationship with Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega. The two agents are Kevin Grady of the DEA, who first becomes aware of CIA complicity in drug smuggling in Vietnam in 1968, and Company spook Jack Lind, who clashes with Grady in Vietnam and later becomes the main CIA link with Noriega, even as Grady is beginning to uncover the dictator's relationship with the Medellin cocaine cartel. Since each man remains basically ignorant of the other's involvement until late in the novel, however, the implied conflict between the two generates insufficient heat. The story is told in first-person flashbacks, through Grady's memory and through tape recordings left behind by Lind after his suicide; it's this death that opens the book, making suspense dependent on the tensions within and between the two men, rather than on their fates. But neither character is well developed, with Lind's ultimate change of heart turning unconvincingly on the death of a woman he has come to love. Much of the dialogue sounds wooden or false, as well. Cameos by real-life figures, including Noriega, CIA chief William Casey and drug lord Pablo Escobar, add some zing, but not enough. Even star hitters strike out sometimes, and a thriller writer as generally reliable as Collins can be forgiven for whiffing this time.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
When is a novel not a novel? Collins, coauthor of the best-selling Is Paris Burning?, retells here the fall of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, with cynical vignettes of CIA director Bill Casey, Vice President George Bush, Marine Oliver North, and others. Kevin Grady, a DEA agent passionately devoted to destroying the importation and sale of cocaine, finds himself thwarted again and again by CIA officer Jack Lind, whose professional success is dependent upon the good fortunes of Noriega and associated Central American drug dealers. While Lind and Grady chase criminals, the body count of innocent victims mounts. The most interesting scenes are the descriptions of spycraft, including the meticulous courting and occasional blackmail of confidential informants. Since most readers are familiar with the historical events and the consequent political fallout, the plot itself generates little suspense. Essentially, this is a rehash of the dismal extralegal activities of the CIA, with emphasis on drug-dealing, money-laundering, and interagency battles for turf and glory. The mixture of real and fictional characters only further confuses the reader. Not recommended.?Elsa Pendleton, Boeing Computer Support Svcs., Ridgecrest, Cal.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
