The Red Room (A Risk Agent Novel)
*Starred Review* Previous Risk Agent ops in Shanghai (The Risk Agent, 2012) and Amsterdam (Choke Point, 2013) featured Rutherford Risk operatives John Knox and Grace Chu on the hunt, but this installment is all about impossible escapes and elusive spycraft. The plan is for Knox and Chu to travel to Istanbul, broker the sale of a long-buried antiquity to one of Knox’s current import/export clients, and finagle five minutes in the room with their mark, the client’s brother. Despite pitching the mission as “in and out, no action,” chief operative David Dulwich claims the client’s identity and the significance of their contact with the mark is “need to know” intel. And, according to him, they don’t. But when Knox and Chu arrive in Istanbul, they spot operatives following their every move. Dissatisfied with Dulwich’s unresponsiveness, technology-maven Grace does some unsanctioned digging and identifies the mark as an Iranian nuclear scientist, but she can’t figure out the operation’s objective. Then Grace is kidnapped, and the operatives who have been shadowing Knox start shooting to kill. Knox is caught in a catch-22: complete the mission blind, or bail on the op and burn his reputation in the import/export business. Another hit in this knockout thriller series featuring nonstop danger, casually clever descriptions of exotic locales, evolving characterization, and evenhanded sociopolitical commentary. Recommended for every beach bag. --Christine Tran