On April 18, 1983, a bomb exploded outside the American embassy in Beirut, killing sixty-three people. The attack was a geopolitical turning point. It marked the beginning of Hezbollah as a political force, and even more important, it eliminated America's most influential and effective intelligence officer in the Middle East - CIA operative Robert Ames. What set Ames apart from his peers was his extraordinary ability to form deep, meaningful connections with key Arab intelligence figures. Some operatives relied on threats and subterfuge, but Ames worked by building friendships and emphasizing shared values - never more notably than with Yasir Arafat's charismatic intelligence chief and heir apparent Ali Hassan Salameh (aka "The Red Prince"). Ames's deepening relationship with Salameh held the potential for a lasting peace. Within a few years, though, both men had been killed by assassins, and America's relations with the Arab world began heading down a path that culminated in 9/11, the War on Terror, and the current fog of mistrust.
In a seaside village north of Trinidad, young Marcia Garcia, a gifted and smart-mouthed sixteen-year-old seamstress, lives alone, raising two small boys and guarding a family secret. When she met Farouk Karam, an ambitious young policeman (so taken with Marcia that he elicits help a tea-brewing obeah woman to guarantee her ardor), the rewards and risks in Marcia's life amplify forever.
Rookie case officer Kyra Stryker is back in Langley after a disastrous assignment has given her a bullet hole in her arm and a chip on her shoulder. She's placed in the Red Cell, the CIA's out-of-the-box think tank, working with Jonathan Burke, one of the agency's most ingenious analysts - and biggest outcasts.
When the fragile peace between China and Taiwan is violently disrupted and the Chinese are ready to invade, the Agency turns to the Red Cell for intel. Why would the Chinese risk war with America? Their only lead is the top CIA asset in China, code-named Pioneer, and his position has been compromised. With Burke's technical help, Stryker embarks on a daring mission: extract Pioneer before he can be arrested. The secrets he holds could mean the difference between peace in the Pacific - or another world war.
In the idyllic ski town of Breckenridge, Colorado, Sarah St. John is reeling. Three months ago, her twenty-two-year-old son, Cully, died in an avalanche. Though single, Sarah is hardly alone in her grief. Her father, a retiree, tries to distract her with gadgets from the QVC home shopping channel. Sarah's best friend offers life advice by venting details of her own messy divorce. Even Cully's father reemerges, stirring more emotions and confusion than Sarah needs. Still, Sarah feels she is faces the stages of grief - the anger, the sadness, the letting go, alone.
Barely ready to face the fact she will never again hear the swoosh of son's ski pants, or watch him skateboard past her window, Sarah is surprised when a strange girl arrives on her doorstep. Unexpected and unexplained, she bears a secret from Cully that could change all of their lives forever.
and more new arrivals......
All The Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr
Backlands: A novel of the American West, by Michael McGarrity
Blessings, by Elise Juska
Bridge to Haven, by Francine Rivers
By Its Cover, by Donna Leon
Delicious, by Ruth Reichl
Desperate, by Michael Palmer
Family Affair, by Fern Michaels
The Forgotten Seamstress, by Liz Trenow
Garden Of The Burning Sand, by Corban Addison
The Girl Who Saved The King of Sweden, by Jonas Jonasson
Hop Alley, by Scott Phillips
Horses, by Yan Arthus-Bertrand
The Hydra Protocol, by David Wellington
Keep Quiet, by Lisa Scottoline
Magnificent Vibration, by Rick Springfield
Natchez Burning, by Greg Iles
On The Rocks, by Erin Duffy
The Painter, by Peter Heller
Poison Spring: A Frontier Story, by Johnny D. Boggs
Remember Me Like This, by Bret Anthony Johnston
Robert B. Parker's Cheap Shot, by Ace Atkins
The Snow Queen, by Michael Cunningham
Starfire, by Dale Brown
Stolen Ones, by Richard Montanari
Walking on Water, by Richard Paul Evans
No comments:
Post a Comment