While Jeffery Deaver’s newest novel is uneven, it is unusually enigmatic, always coming up with the unexpected. The characters often seem wooden, but their adventures are anything but dull, taking the reader from one gripping situation to another. The plot involves a secret government agency that specializes in protecting victims until the pursuer is captured or neutralized.
Information is received that a D.C. detective has been targeted by a “lifter” (one who specializes in extracting information from victims by any method necessary). Protecting the cop and his family falls to Corte, the protégé of a man killed by the “lifter’ seven years earlier on another job. While shepherding the family, Corte also has to find out what prompted the targeting of the detective. This leads to a deadly game as Corte and his opponent move back and forth to an endgame.
One can look at Corte as an exciting new character in Deaver’s collection, or as a relatively boring protagonist who is extremely proficient at what he does in sort of robotic fashion. What keeps the story moving steadily is an unusual twist at each turn of events, not giving the reader any clue as to what is coming.
Recommended.
