Thursday, July 1, 2010

Rules of Betrayal-Christopher Reich

Rules of Betrayal
Christopher Reich
Doubleday, Jul 13 2010, $25.95
ISBN: 9780385531542

In Zabul Province, Afghanistan Dr. Jonathan Ransom of Doctors Without Borders is providing medical care to the locals when a Taliban assault occurs. He is air lifted out of the deadly firefight.

However, Jonathan learns from his assistant Hamid who secretly works for the American top secret agency Division that his wife Emma also known in some circles as Lara Antonova, who may be one of their operatives, is in trouble. He knows how capable a killer his Emma is so Jonathan has problems accepting the assertion, but refuses to ignore the possibility. Apparently Emma has done something to anger a Taliban brutal operative The “Hawk” and thwart fuming arms dealer Lord Balfour. The Division fears Emma has gone rogue somewhere in the mountainous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. In fact she has found a B-52 that crashed in 1980 carrying a nuclear bomb that she has taken with her. Everyone from the infamous Indian war dealer to the deadly Taliban terrorist to the Division and even the Russians’ FSB head to Lashkar Province seek to take the bomb from Emma-Lara; except Jonathan who seeks to extract his wife from being in the eye of the storm.

The third Ransom Rules (see Rules of Vengeance and Rules of Deception) is a superb espionage thriller as Jonathan who wants nothing to do with Division or spying is back in the field worried about his mysterious spouse. Readers learn much more about enigmatic Emma’s background as she operates with rules in which trust and rely on no one as they will betray you. Jonathan is pulled between saving his wife and securing the bomb, which leaves readers anxiously awaiting the fate of the nuke in his next thriller.

Harriet Klausner

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