A spy thriller, in the same vein of a James Bond adventure, but make him an anti hero. Instead of a young, dashing, irresistible British heart throb, you get a middle aged, retired American ex-spy. But, you do get the same high stakes game, a very nasty villain, a race against time, and an intriguing puzzle.
It’s set up with a puzzling murder, where the killer has left absolutely no clues, and has removed all the normal identifying characteristics of a dead body. Via an acid bath. So–no motive, no clues, and no ID. But the investigator notices that this has the earmarks of how to commit a perfect murder–from a book that he wrote earlier in his career.
Then, he gets pulled into solving a terrorist threat to America, one that pales in comparison to a mass bombing or a plane being hijacked and used as a missile.
The author does a good job of keeping your interest via clues along the way, and the intelligent way he sets up the next step in a series of puzzles. You don’t have the constant heroics of a James Bond or a Mitch Rapp, but you’ll get plenty of scrapes with danger and the thrill of hunting this mad terrorist.
This should be your next good read. Granted, the use of a mirror as a photographic plate was a little much–that one still puzzles me–read the book and tell me what you think.