The Last Spymaster by Gayle Lynds Review
St. Martin's Press, June, 2006Hardcover, 464 pages
ISBN: 0312301596
Elaine Hunter is a CIA operative known as a "hunter" - someone who tracks down and apprehends people who don't want to be found, such as rogue CIA agents and master criminals. Elaine is given the job of tracking down legendary CIA Cold War spy Jay Tice, who has somehow managed to escape from a maximum security federal prison. The brilliant Tice was convicted of being a double agent at the end of the Cold War and is now despised as being a traitor. Elaine's specialty is getting inside the heads of those she hunts, so she gets to work learning all she can about the brilliant spymaster. But the more she learns about Tice, the less she understands why Tice turned traitor. As she gets closer to Tice, she suddenly finds herself surrounded by a new set of players on the field, many of whom seem set on eliminating both her and Tice. On the run, cut off from her agency, Elaine must show her true mettle as she tracks down a master spy and tries to stop a new terrorist plot of breathtaking proportions.
Ms. Lynds adroitly melds the world of international politics with the dark world of espionage in this gripping thriller. The spy's spy himself, Charles Jay Tice, is a fascinating enigma -- and easily steals every scene he is in, as much with his tradecraft as his mercurial personality. Elaine Cunningham is a cool, collected professional who finds her preconceived notions turned upside down. The action scenes are breathtaking and the characters have substance and depth. Gayle Lynds is the heir apparent to Robert Ludlum's crown as the premier writer of international spy thrillers today.
--Claire E. White
Ordering information: Amazon.com
Return to the June 2006 issue of The IWJ.