Mysteries Galore.com

Reviewed by Allen Hott

An intriguing spy novel that is as up to the minute as it could possibly be.

Muslim terrorists very cleverly manage to steal two nuclear missile type weapons from deep in the Russian’s arsenal. The manner in which it is pulled off is one of Berenson’s tricks in writing. Perhaps the method may seem a little implausible but if you really think about it, there is really little doubt that it couldn’t be done.

At about the same time as the above, John Wells and Jennifer Exley (his fiancée), two of the CIA’s top spies, are involved in a shootout with several foreign agents. This wild adventure takes place when the two are heading into work in Washington D.C. Only some quick thinking and fast acting by Wells keeps them from being killed although Jennifer suffers a very bad wound. In the shootout Wells kills all of the assailants and isn’t able to get any information about who paid for the attack.

He knows however that it was orchestrated by Pierre Kowalski; a known gun dealer in Europe who had run afoul of Wells recently. Wells embarrassed Kowalski in a meeting but though he felt Kowalski was involved in illicit activities he could not prove it.

Though this wound is really the final touch as far as Jennifer is concerned in her CIA career, Wells takes the assault personally and plans immediate revenge. She goes to the hospital and he goes off in his crusade to get back at Kowalski.

Meanwhile however the terrorists have made off with the nuclear weapons and Washington feels that somehow they plan to use them against the United States.
Russia is not offering much help as they are somewhat embarrassed about the theft but also they do not believe that the terrorists will use the weapons against them.

The CIA begins hunting for the bomb and they use Wells to do much of the searching while he is also working on his own vendetta. Ironically the two incidents become entwined as Kowalski is contacted by the terrorists who are in need of beryllium as part of the ignition for the bomb.

Berenson does a great job of interweaving plots and carrying the reader deeper and deeper into the story. He tells of the problems that the terrorists have as they race to have their project completed in time.

Wells continues with his chase and his loyalty to the CIA while all the time knowing that he will probably end up losing the love of his life by doing so.

The ending matches up well with the story line and brings the reader full circle …..almost!

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