James Y.K. Moy

(5) = Best; (4) = Better; (3) = Good; (2) = Fair; (1) = OK

These abstracts serve as reminders to myself; they serve to "jog" my memory on what a book was all about. That's all. This is not a literary critique, not a social commentary, and certainly nothing profound to warrant further discussion.

(5) = means that I really enjoyed this book; (1) = means I finished reading it but wonder if my time could have been better spent elsewhere.

This is a reminder: John Carr, aka Oliver Stone, disappears after the case is solved in this bok. He re-emerges in the next book. Divine Justice which I need to read yet. This doesn’t say anything about what happened in the preceding 386 pages of the book.

There are two main threads (1) Annabelle’s predicament for having conned casino owner Bagger who discovered she was hiding in Washington DC, and (2) the killing of former CIA assassins by Harry Finn who is getting even with them for having killed his father. Both threads converge with the assistance of Oliver Stone and Alex Ford who is an FBI Agent and close friend of Stone.

(1). Annabelle had stolen 40 million dollars from Bagger in a previous Baldacci book. In this book, Bagger figures out how Annabelle did it and is after her; he finds one of her partners, tortures him and learns about her scheme. She meets Oliver who agrees to help; Annabelle’s father, Paddy, who is dying of cancer, shows up; he also helps. Their plans are clever and with the help of Alex Ford their problem is solved in a horrific explosion where Paddy and Bagger is killed. (2) Harry Finn’s father was a diplomat who falls in love with a Soviet Spy who eventually becomes a Double Agent. The couple knew that CIA operatives had assassinated Russian Premiers Andropov and Chernenko; the assassins kill Harry’s father to hide their secret, and the mother goes into hiding. Son Harry eventually becomes a Navy SEAL, and he is now after the assassins. Carter Gray, CIA Director, and Senator Simpson were not authorized to kill the two Russian Premiers. They need to get rid of everyone who knew about their actions. John Carr blackmailed Carter Gray by threatening to leak Gray’s involvement and forcing him to resign. Carr decides to fake his death and disappear. He emerges as Oliver Stone.

Key in solving Finn’s dilemma is Lesya Solomon, Harry’s mother. This summary doesn’t do justice to the book. But I hoped it provides enough info so I can fill in the gaps and not have to re-read the book again.