My work
with the Big Thrill has some great perks and allows me to read awesome books
before their publishing date, but sometimes there are novels I really want to
read and can’t get the assignment. That is the case with The Spy Across the
Table by Barry Lancet. So, obviously, I went out and got the book.
The Spy
Across the Table is the fourth book in the Jim Brodie series. Brodie divides
his time between San Francisco and Tokyo, he’s an art dealer who inherited an
interest in his father’s security company. While the setup from the previous
novels stemmed from Brodie Security, this time is personal. When two of his
friends are murdered in a meeting he helped put together, Jim stumbles into
more trouble than he anticipated. Yet, he wants to do justice to his dead
friends as he plunges along in an spiral of action that takes him to Korea’s
DMZ, China, as he fights a battle almost nobody seems to want him involved
with, FLOTUS being that exception.
By the way,
I really meant Korea in the last paragraph. Yes, North Korea plays such a big
role in this novel that one could almost call the book prophetic when you
consider recent developments in the news.
One of the
best sequences in the book takes place in the Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ that
separates North from South Korea. Is a border like no other, infested with
barbwire, land-mines and even aggressive guards. The author graciously shared
these pictures.
Fans of the
series will be treated to scenes with regular characters, but one in particular
that made such a splash in Tokyo Kills now returns center stage, so much that
he’s referenced in the title.
Luck should
have it that I’ve not read all the books in this series, so I can confirm the
author does a terrific job of introducing returning characters with enough
information for a newcomer, and best of all, his references to the other
stories are far from a commercial to buy the other books. Of course it’s better
to complete the set.
About the
author:
Barry
Lancet is the author of the award-winning international suspense series
featuring Jim Brodie. The latest entry is THE SPY ACROSS THE TABLE, from Simon
& Schuster. The first Brodie book, JAPANTOWN, won a Barry Award for
"Best Debut Novel” and the second, TOKYO KILL, was a Shamus Award
Finalist. The third, PACIFIC BURN, was released in paperback earlier this year.
An American expat raised in California, Lancet has lived in Japan for more than
twenty years. His editorial position at one of the Japan’s largest publishing
houses allowed him access behind many closed doors, and lend his novels a true
insider’s authenticity.
Although it’s hard to imagine now, there was a time when some people
didn’t like the music from The Beatles. Back in 1964, the group was
still a relatively new band that the teenagers went crazy over. In
contrast, adults thought of The Beatles as a fad, as ephemeral as a
lightening. Oh, and they also thought The Beatles made nothing but
noise.
