Starred review from March 2, 2020
Fans of bestseller Lustbader’s contributions to the Jason Bourne franchise (Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Initiative, etc.) will welcome this outstanding series launch. Evan Ryder, a field agent in a black ops shop, works deep within the Department of Defense. Her spymaster boss receives a list with six names of agents investigating a mysterious organization known as Nemesis. In the last 10 months, five of them have either disappeared or been badly injured. Evan and fellow agent Brenda Myers are sent to interview the one survivor, Patrick Wilson. The obviously unwell Wilson, who’s been tortured, keels over and dies while talking to them, and shortly thereafter Evan and Brenda are the target of a car bombing. The novel encompasses such standard thriller elements as Russians, Nazis, betrayal, treasonous U.S. politicians, and evil masterminds, but Lustbader elevates these familiar components well above the usual thriller norm. Credible action and often lyrical prose support the complex, intelligent plot. A series of twists and an extended fight sequence at the end will leave readers amazed and pleasantly exhausted. Lustbader is at the top of his game. Agent: Mitch Hoffman, Aaron M. Priest Literary.