From Publishers Weekly
In this humdrum political thriller, the latest in the Will Lee series (The Run, etc.), William Henry Lee IV, former senator from Georgia, has graduated to the presidency of the United States. He's living comfortably in the White House with his wife, Katharine Rule Lee, director of the CIA, when a series of murders threatens the nation's political equanimity. Ex-CIA man Ted Fay has begun a lone wolf vendetta against selected right-wing big shots. Ted opens the hostilities by sniping hypocritical Republican Sen. Frederick Wallace of South Carolina, a known bigot who spends his free time committing adultery in a remote mountain cabin with his lover of 20 years, African-American Elizabeth Johnson. President Lee turns to longtime Deputy Director Robert Kinney of the FBI to investigate the murder. When Kinney is asked who shot the senator, his answer gives some measure of Wallace's popularity: "We've narrowed the list of people with a motive to about ten thousand." Assassin Ted has a Web site with a rogue's gallery of politicians, judges, media personalities and others whose policies he deems objectionable. As he ingeniously does away with each in turn, a large X is placed over the corresponding picture. Because Will and Kathy are staunch Democrats and Ted is such a partisan killer, the reader knows that neither is in any danger; this defuses suspense other than that generated by a standard cat-and-mouse hunt. And as Ted is the most interesting character in the book, one begins to secretly root for him and his mission, thus confusing the issue even further. This is not Woods's best, but he's such a pro even a lackluster outing still delivers a mildly diverting read.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
After focusing on Stone Barrington and Holly Barker in his most recent books, Woods turns back to the hero of his early novels, Will Lee. Will is now president of the U.S., and his wife, Kate, is the director of the CIA. Both will be put to the test when a prominent conservative senator, Frederick Wallace, is shot dead at his lakeside cabin. Wallace had many enemies and even kept files full of the dirty secrets of his adversaries. But the murder doesn't appear to be an isolated incident after a car bomb kills a conservative radio personality. Someone with weapons skills is targeting conservatives, and Will and Kate need to find out if the person is a former agent of the U.S. government. Traitorous former CIA agent Ed Rawls, on his last legs in an Atlanta prison, thinks he can identify the killer but will help only in exchange for a pardon. The FBI's deputy director, Bob Kinney, is put on the case, but every lead Bob comes up with seems to end up at a dead end--with one more body added to the mix. Though Will doesn't factor heavily into the most exciting sequences, an old friend from the Stone Barrington series shows up and the dogged Kinney pursues the case relentlessly. Exciting reading for Woods' many fans.
Kristine HuntleyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
