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Jonathan Quinn is a professional "cleaner" who has the responsibility for cleaning a crime scene after the fact so that there are no traces of evidence. For some time, his assignments have come from a group known as "the Office." Although he is anxious to break their association, he is on the wrong side of an IOU. In exchange for some serious help from the Office, he has agreed to perform three jobs for them, no questions asked, after which Quinn is free to go out on his own. The first job involves observing a switch in an abandoned church in Ireland. Nothing goes according to plan; a hidden assassin ends up killing four people; and Quinn and his apprentice, Nate, have to dispose of the bodies. After that chilling experience, Quinn is ordered to find a missing UN worker named Marion Dupuis who has absconded from an orphanage in Africa with a 5-year-old with Down syndrome. Aided by Nate and his lover, Orlando, who is extremely skilled at chasing information, the team follows the trail to a mind-boggling conspiracy involving developmentally disabled children. One of the difficulties for Jonathan in handling these situations is the fact that he has serious doubts about Nate's ability to do what is needed. In an earlier incident, one of Nate's legs was amputated; Jonathan is very reluctant to give Nate the chance to do the job without focusing on his disability. Although the book is quite well plotted, there were a few things that were just too convenient. For example, in the quest to find Marion, the team almost immediately zeroes in on her location in Canada, aided by the stupid actions of the target in traveling without using an alias. Marion also acted irresponsibly at other points in the narrative, much to my annoyance. Jonathan's ability to remain hidden in the headquarters of the conspiracy group didn't seem plausible to me; in fact, the whole means used by the conspiracy was wildly over the top. Despite those reservations, SHADOW OF BETRAYAL is the kind of book that is really satisfying for thriller readers. The action is almost non-stop, and the suspense builds until the concluding moments. However, I found that I enjoyed this book less than the first two in the series, perhaps because it was missing the personal touch of the earlier works.
Reviewed by Maddy Van Hertbruggen, September 2009
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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