Product Description

With Diplomatic Immunity, Grant Sutherland exploded onto the literary scene as one of the most original new authors of international suspense. Now, in his new novel of conspiracy, conscience, and terrifying deception--a novel stretching from the upheaval of the Gulf War to the inner secrets of the current Pentagon--a desperate man struggles to survive a battle for the truth...a battle without any rules except one: win or die.

It wasn’t just a war we were fighting out there in the Gulf; the truth is we were joined in battle against the weapons of every major arms manufacturing country on earth--including our own.

Captain Ned Rourke of the U.S. Rangers always expected war to be hell, but he never imagined that his men would be cut down in the Gulf War with weapons created by his own country. Disillusioned, betrayed, and looking for justice, he’s determined to find those responsible and make them pay the price. But to do so, he’ll have to work undercover as a marketing manager for Haplon Systems, an arms trader skirting the decrees of international law. Forced to live a double life, Rourke knows he is risking something more important than justice: the trust of his wife and son. And when his friend Dimitri Spandos, a former West Point classmate now working for Haplon’s biggest competitor, is discovered shot to death at an arms fair, Rourke knows that he’s entered a world as dangerous as any battlefield. Haplon’s latest deal--to ship a massive quantity of arms to an unnamed African country--is clearly worth killing for, but can Rourke discover who’s really behind it before his marriage is destroyed...and he ends up with a bullet in the head?

The more Rourke learns, the closer he gets to a conspiracy reaching from the killing fields of West Africa to the upper echelons of the Pentagon, and a deadly cover-up that someone intended Dimitri Spandos to take to his grave. But Rourke is now fighting in a war where an ally can become an enemy in the blink of an eye, where no flags or uniforms mark sides--and where knowing the truth could be a sentence of death. If he and his family are going to survive, he’s going to have to throw away the rule book, put his principles aside, and prepare to get blood on his hands once again.


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2436089 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-02
• Released on: 2004-03-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 416 pages

From Publishers Weekly
A strong, cunning writer, Sutherland knows how to plant his characters in complex, threatening situations and then turn them loose as the action escalates. The United Nations was his backdrop in 2001's Diplomatic Immunity, and now he achieves similar results with a political thriller set in the world of arms trading. U.S. Ranger Capt. Ned Rourke was a career soldier through the Gulf War, until he received a serious wound in the Mogadishu debacle. His first civilian job was as an instructor at West Point (which he loathed); the next as sales director for a small, somewhat disreputable arms manufacturer called Haplon. Rourke's wife, Fiona, a geologist who hated his dangerous military life, isn't thrilled by this latest career move, and their son, Brad-a budding geologist-shares her distaste. But Rourke isn't really dealing weapons to developing nations: he and his former army buddy Dimitri are doing deep undercover work for the Defense Intelligence Agency, trying to stop the illegal traffic that caused some of their men in the Gulf to be killed by U.S.-made arms. When an operation called "Hawkeye" starts to go bad and Dimitri is killed, Rourke's double life becomes increasingly perilous. Trapped on a Ukrainian freighter ferrying Haplon arms to the very same war-torn African country where his son has just taken a job, Rourke and a tough female U.S. Customs agent are up to their ears in angst and high-level treachery. Sutherland's narrative engine is definitely a thing of beauty, though it drives some seriously melodramatic action. When the drama threatens to become overwrought, Rourke's touchy, touching relationship with his wife and son provides a needed anchor.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Sutherland follows up his debut, Diplomatic Immunity (2001), with an equally absorbing thriller. It's the story of a U.S. Ranger captain, Ned Rourke, whose men were killed in the Gulf War by weapons manufactured in the U.S. but sold to the enemy. He vows revenge on the people who trade arms to the adversaries of the U.S., a decision that takes him into the darker regions of his country and into the darker side of himself. The novel begins with the familiar, Rambo-like premise--a single man takes on a multitude of villains and risks everything in the bargain--but Sutherland works enough variations on the theme to keep things interesting. Rourke, both hero and narrator, is a strong, likable fellow with a contradiction at the heart of his character: it is his deep moral center that compels him to contemplate committing some deeply immoral acts. Around that conflict, Sutherland explores the very thin line separating justice and vengeance. A solid, engaging thriller. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"A strong, cunning writer...Sutherland's narrative engine is definitely a thing of beauty."
--Publishers Weekly

"Taut...Sutherland is very good on the intricacies of an arms deal and the horrors of a civil war."
--The Washington Post

"Sutherland again demonstrates his mastery of the mystery with a tale of murder, suspense and hope...[he] has crafted a compelling human story...with genuine emotional impact."
--Winston-Salem Journal

"An interesting and complex tale...Rambo in a le Carre novel."
--Kirkus


From the Paperback edition.

Customer Reviews

Details are very lacking........ Sad.
Read the book this week and the inaccuracy of the details reveal a basic lack of understanding of the American Military. These flaws make an otherwise "OK" book plotwise almost painful to read. I think Mr. Sutherland wrote the book to reflect a British Officer and some publishing wizard (rolleyes) convinced him to re-write it was an eye towards the American market. If more (any?) research was conducted, this would be a decent read. If accuracy isn't an issue with the reader get it. If having F16s become carrier borne and officers hopping on and off active duty while working at West Point as a "Weapons Instructor" isn't a bother, enjoy.

Tight, well written thriller
This is one of THOse books that keeps revealing the plot as you go along. The problem with these kinds of plots is that each step has to be bigger than the last and the author must balance reality with readability.

Grant Sutherland does both. The government is tracking illegal arms shipments around the world. A routine assignment--be done in about 6 months. That was 2 years ago. A family at the edge and marriage on the rocks, Ned Rourke wants to call it off, but admitting that he had been keeping a big secret from his wife might just push his marriage over the cliff.

Things go from bad to worse for the "retired" U.S. Range Captain. Nothing is as it seems and anything you take at face value turns up differently later.

This is a well written romp. I need to get his other book DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY.

The Consignment - Moved to Slow
Moved to slow for me. Plot idea was interesting and writing sytle ok. I just ran out of patience with this one.