Copyright 2014 by Columbus Rose Ltd. Published by Grand Central Publishing, New York.
This is #3 in the series of books by Baldacci featuring Will Robie and Jessica Reel, America’s premier team of assassins. I have read and reported on the previous book – “The Hit” – and I strongly recommend that you read that one first as this book is a direct sequel. Much of what goes on in this book won’t make sense unless you have read the previous one.
In this sequel Robie and Reel are sent to the “Burner Box” – a training facility in North Carolina – ostensibly to see if they are fit for a very high-profile assignment directly from the President of the United States. But they suspect, with good reason, that their boss, Evan Tucker, head of the CIA, may be trying to kill them. It won’t surprise you – or spoil the plot – to learn that they do survive and are sent on the mission.
Except it isn’t the original mission. It is a “clean-up” mission because the original mission was compromised and had to be aborted. Their new mission is to assassinate a North Korean general who had been feeding them intelligence but who had been compromised. The general committed suicide, saving them the trouble of killing him, but his dying plea was to save his family, who he knew would be sent to a concentration camp in North Korea. So, yes, the President wants Robie and Reel to infiltrate North Korea, gain access to the camp and rescue the family.
Simple, right?
The Robie/Reel narrative is intertwined with a narrative of a North Korean assassin who has been given an equally impossible assignment – to infiltrate the US and kill people close to the President.
This is a fascinating story with lots of action. Mostly unbelievable, but just barely so – it could happen as Baldacci lays it out.
9 out of 10.
ATW wrapup
Each of the three segments of the ATW has its own wrapup (ATW-1, ATW-2 and ATW-3) so all I can add here are some observations about our epic around-the-world trip.