Jim DeFelice, Leopards Kill

Leopards Kill

Jim DeFelice

Forge, May 2007, $24.95

ISBN 0765314363

In Afghanistan, CIA agent Mercury "Merc" Conrad is on a black ops assignment when he suddenly vanishes off the radar screen. The CIA would ignore a lost agent because the brass believes in minimizing damage to avoid an international incident. Besides which those in the cold understand the risks they take. However, Merc also has two million dollars that the agency wants back so they decide to send someone in.

Former Special Forces soldier Jack Pilgrim volunteers to rescue Merc as he owes the man for saving his life three times. Jack treks into the most dangerous part of Afghanistan where outsiders never venture in a quest to locate his buddy. Every step is filled with danger as no one welcomes the American intruder.

You don't know Jack if you are a thriller fan and pass on this action-packed tale that starts off at hyperspeed and never slows down until the final confrontation. Besides one harrowing incident after another that fully tests Jack's capabilities to survive, his occasional asides on his and Merc's mortality as he does not expect to survive this ordeal and his muses on divided loyalty add depth to him. However, LEOPARDS KILL is first, second, and nth action, action, and more action.

Harriet Klausner