Gayle Lynds, The Last Spymaster

The Last Spymaster

Gayle Lynds

St. Martin's, June 2006, $24.95

ISBN 0312301596

During the Cold War, CIA spymaster Jay Tice sold out his country to the Russians, but was caught. Convicted, he was sentenced to spend the rest of his life at the Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex in Allenwood, Pennsylvania. No one has ever escaped from the prison, so Tice is expedited to one day die there.

However, Tice does the impossible and vanishes without a trace. CIA Director of Operations Laurence Litchfield sends his best hunter, Elaine Cunningham to find the escaped spymaster and learn how he pulled the rabbit out of the hat. Elaine wants to say no as she no longer has the passion, especially since her spouse died in Afghanistan, but accepts the duty. Elaine follows clues that take her on a death ride of the east coast, but she soon concludes this is not one clever espionage agent fleeing into the cold, but something much greater in scope and diabolical, but what and who to warn remains just out of her reach.

This is a terrific espionage thriller that grips readers because characters like Tice, Cunningham, and former East German spy Raina Manhardt provide passion to the complex well written plot. The action-packed storyline takes the reader and Elaine on quite an odyssey, as she follows the death trail in her quest to hunt down Tice. The relationship between Tice and Manhardt adds depth, as they were the ultimate star-crossed lovers during the Cold War. Gayle Lynds writes a fantastic thriller that brings heart to THE LAST SPYMASTER.