A good thriller isn't so much written as built, and Pavone is one of the genre's most consistently dazzling architects. This follow-up to
The Expats and
The Travellers finds wife, mother, and spy handler Kate Moore in the middle of a terrorist scare in front of the Louvre. As she digs for answers, she finds that the entire operation might be a cover for another move entirely: an international conglomerate is preparing a big move worth millions, and Kate's cash-strapped financier husband, Dexter, stands to make—or lose—a fortune on the announcement. Feelings of domestic betrayal simmer, and the focus on Kate's role as family caretaker conflicting with her job as a spy offers an excellent hook that elevates this novel above the standard catch-the-bad-guy fray.
VERDICT Pavone gives us a fresh, pulsating, and introspective thriller that delivers on its tourist-heavy Parisian setting and expands and connects territory from his previous novels. An ensemble cast with alternating points of view enhances the wheels-within-wheels plot and are sure to please fans of Daniel Silva or Stella Rimington. Absolutely not to be missed. [See Prepub Alert, 11/12/18.]
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