Review by Booklist Review
Van Lustbader continues his string of novels featuring Robert Ludlum's most famous character, Jason Bourne, and once again the action never stops. Though the thin characterizations almost derail the story this time, there is still enough juicy gunplay to keep action fans happy. A terrorist named El Ghadan kidnaps Bourne and proceeds to blackmail him. Soraya Moore, former director of Treadstone, is being held hostage, along with her husband and young daughter. El Ghadan will kill them unless Bourne assassinates the president of the U.S. at an upcoming summit. Bourne tries to figure out a third alternative. Sleaze and treachery run rampant. Bourne's dilemma gives this one some drama, but the Bourne novels written after Ludlum's death still pale in comparison to the originals.--Ayers, Jeff Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Lustbader's workmanlike ninth contribution to the Bourne franchise (after 2013's The Bourne Retribution) finds Jason Bourne on a routine assignment, posing as a high-level functionary at an international summit in the Middle East. The action picks up after the terrorist El Ghadan captures Bourne during an ambush of the summit that leaves the other diplomats dead. Our hero is then forced to make a sadistic choice: consign his friend Soraya Moore and her two-year-old daughter, Sonya, to a fate of death or worse, or, use his unparalleled skills to murder the American president. As he patiently searches for an escape from this dilemma, Bourne inadvertently plays directly into El Ghadan's real plan. An overly familiar plot (e.g., a vengeful enemy forces a top agent to choose between loved ones and patriotic duty) and tacky prose (e.g., "The long bulge of the Presidential phallus was all too visible") suggest Bourne is ready for retirement. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
