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In the prologue, the family of a successful Pakistani computer consultant is wiped out by an American drone in South Waziristan, Pakistan. Professor Omar sees it happen and is lucky not to have been killed alongside his family. From that time on he thinks of nothing else but hunting the CIA hunters and making them afraid. General Malik, head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI) seems to have evidence that operations are being conducted in Pakistan by an organisation other than the CIA. His suspicions are correct and it appears that officials in the White House, exasperated by what they regard as the inept performance of the CIA, have set up a smaller and self- funded clandestine service, the aim of which is to use bribes to persuade other countries to the US point of view and to work on its behalf. Unfortunately, it seems that somebody else knows about these 'secret' arrangements and the new organization's agents are being killed. Sophie Marx, formerly of the CIA, is detailed by Jeffrey Gertz, head of the newly formed service, to find out why the first agent was killed. Her investigations take her to London, where she meets a billionaire head of a financial trading house and to Pakistan to meet General Malik. She receives help from a senior figure in the CIA itself and eventually discovers who is behind the murders. However, knowing the identity of the murderer is one thing; finding him is altogether another. The plot is perhaps a little too intricate and certainly requires concentration and even, occasionally, some backtracking - but it is mainly convincing. We know from the prologue who is responsible for the killings but the intrigue lies in where he is getting his information from and how he can be stopped. As ever, in this kind of espionage-related novel, it is a question of whom to trust. The descriptions of, for example, the Mayfair dealing room and the tribal areas of Pakistan ring true and show an impressive (but not excessive) amount of research. In particular the ambivalent political relationship between the United States and Pakistan is well brought out. The characterization too is carefully done and even the apparently tough and unsentimental Sophie can reflect her disappointment that a young and 'cute' case officer had not asked her out! The writer is widely regarded as being familiar with the inside workings of the CIA - a reputation which this novel confirms. § Arnold Taylor is a retired Examinations Board Officer, amateur writer and even more amateur bridge player.
Reviewed by Arnold Taylor, June 2011
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