The Assassin

Bestseller Coonts's exciting third thriller to star reformed burglar turned CIA operative Tommy Carmellini (after The Traitor) raises a timely issue—the lack of well-to-do Americans on combat duty in the war against terrorism. When an Iraqi bomb kills Huntington Winchester's only child, a Harvard med student who joined the navy out of patriotism, the grieving father decides he and his privileged friends aren't doing enough to defend civilization against the jihadist threat. Winchester gets tacit approval from one of those friends, the unnamed U.S. president, for him and some other well-to-do types to finance their own private war. When al-Qaeda mastermind Abu Qasim discovers the identities of those in Winchester's group and targets them, Carmellini and his CIA boss, Adm. Jake Grafton, determine to set a trap that involves Qasim's possible daughter. Though the constant switching between various points-of-view distracts at times, the action moves swiftly to its Hollywood ending. Author tour. (Aug.) ""
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CIA agents Tommy Carmellini and Jake Grafton return in this follow-up to The Traitor (2006). A ruthless terrorist, Abu Qasim, escaped their clutches in the earlier adventure, and now they are desperate to capture him. When a Russian dies of radiation poisoning, it’s clear that Qasim may be in possession of a nuclear weapon. Meanwhile, Carmellini finds himself falling in love with a woman he has been assigned to protect, even though she may be working with the terrorist. Coonts has never been known for graceful prose, and this time that flaw is particularly evident in a series of similarly worded death scenes. In addition, the narrative never really catches fire, plodding along to its obvious conclusion. Still, Coonts’ fans are legion, and they are sure to be forgiving. --Jeff Ayers