Book Review: Dead Reckoning

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Dead Reckoning     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Clive Egleton
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Espionage   Thriller
Series: Peter Ashton # 7
St. Martin's Minotaur, Oct 1999, $24.95, 342 pp.

Victor Hazlewood, the Director General of England's Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), has to tell the bad news to one of his best operatives Peter Ashton. Apparently, Peter's wife Hazel, a former operative, was found brutally murdered in the office of psychiatrist Dr. Ramash. Two other females besides Harriet were also found dead in the doctor's office. However, Peter soon learns that his beloved Harriet is still alive, which leads him to believe that someone obviously penetrated SIS to have obtained the information about Harriet being found in the doctor's office.

Soon evidence surfaces that other secret information has leaked. Peter begins to investigate the situation even though his superiors seem more apt to slow him down if it furthers their personal agenda. Clues fail to lead to anything new and more murders follow. Peter knows one thing is certain. Someone(s) is playing a dangerous game in which major power shifts could occur if they succeed.

Anyone who believes that that espionage thrillers died with the collapse of the Berlin Wall obviously has not read Clive Egleton. With DEAD RECKONING, Mr. Egleton keeps his spy out in the cold even though Peter has family obligations. The story line is typical Egleton as it's filled with head-butting action, twisting plots, and a good mystery. Peter retains his charm even as he swim a bureaucratic ocean filled with sharks and barracudas. Fans of espionage thrillers need only turn to Mr. Egleton for a post Cold War chiller that keeps the audience on the edge from start to finish.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner