April 11, 2005
Picking up where Mathews's action-packed spy thriller The Cutout
(2001) left off, brassy, resilient CIA intelligence analyst Catherine Carmichael sifts through the shrapnel after her clash in Europe with a faction of neo-Nazi killers called 30 April (Hitler's death date). Deadly 30 April operative Daniel Becker, "a Tim McVeigh in the making," begins his stateside killing spree by distributing ricin-laced water to D.C. marathoners. As hundreds die, Becker then shoots the CIA director and sets his sights on Catherine, who not long ago discovered that her spy husband, Eric, previously thought dead, is alive. But he's in Berlin, his identity has been exposed and high-ranking CIA officials ("enemies with the faces of friends") have labeled him a 30 April terrorist. With her planned resignation stalled, Catherine focuses on getting Eric out of Germany, chasing Becker and dodging the advances of CIA legal eagle Tom Shephard, whom she'd enticed romantically after Eric was pronounced MIA. A child abduction and more calculated assassination attempts keep Catherine on the run. Mathews, a former CIA intelligence analyst, dexterously serves up strong suspense and crisp espionage maneuvers. With Caroline Carmichael at the wheel, it's a riveting, wild ride right to the nail-biting conclusion. Agent, Rafe Sagalyn.
January 1, 2005
An agent who everyone thought was dead suddenly telephones with news of a deadly new terrorist organization called April 30. How can someone who's not a traitor know so much?
Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from May 1, 2005
This long-anticipated sequel to Mathews's "The Cutout" (2001) was well worth the wait. It begins with a truly chilling -because of the very real possibilities it suggests -deadly terrorist attack. An angry neo-Nazi plants himself alongside other volunteers in a Washington, DC, marathon and hands out water glasses laced with ricin to the parched runners. His true target is the wife of the secretary of state, but the hundreds of additional hits are a bonus. Amidst the resulting chaos, it quickly becomes clear that an active American cell of the supposedly vanquished 30 April terrorist organization is an all too horrible probability. The CIA's resident expert on this group is Caroline Carmichael -who's just quit her job. Pulled once again into the fray, Caroline finds herself both a hero and a suspect. And she will have to walk a tightrope of intrigue if she is going to come out of this alive. Though the author (a former CIA analyst) executes gripping tension with aplomb, her characterizations are what hold the reader. Every player, bit part to starring role, leaps off the page. Recommended for most popular fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 1/05.] -Jane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI
Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.