The Red Room

April 28, 2014
Bestseller Pearson’s exciting if complicated third Risk Agent novel (after 2013’s Choke Point) takes security operative John Knox, who’s also an art trader, and his partner, former Chinese government spy Grace Chu, to Istanbul, where they are to perform a simple in-and-out delivery job for David Dulwich, Knox’s pal at the private contracting firm Rutherford Risk. Knox and Chu are to offer the bust of Harmodius, a piece of ancient artwork worth millions, to restaurant owner Akram Okle, who’s acting as middleman for a wealthy brother of his named Mashe. Since Knox needs the money for medicine for his autistic, mentally-challenged brother, he accepts the assignment. To no one’s surprise, the mission turns deadly in Istanbul and proves anything but simple. Readers may want to take notes to keep track of the many countries and secret agents involved as Pearson peels away the various layers of deception before the satisfying denouement. Agent: Amy Berkower, Writers House.

June 1, 2014
A third adventure takes globe-trotting independent contractor John Knox and forensic accountant Grace Chu to Istanbul-and all around, over and beneath this crossroads city as well.According to David Dulwich, the only thing Rutherford Risk needs is for Knox and Grace to finagle five minutes alone with Mashe Okle, a medical-equipment designer and financier whose restaurateur brother Akram is incurably addicted to antiquities. The enticement will be a bust of Harmodius presumed lost for many years, now duly authenticated and offered to Akram for a small fraction of its estimated $10 million value. As usual (Choke Point, 2013, etc.), Knox thinks the project sounds dubious, and Dulwich's mantra in response to his questions-"NTK," for Need to Know-isn't reassuring. But the medications Knox's brother and partner back in Michigan needs are so pricey that Knox has little choice. So he signs on and heads for Istanbul, a fascinating, inscrutable city where the one thing that's clear is that every player in this particular game-Akram, Mashe, gallery owner Victoria Momani, art evaluator Dr. Hassan Adjani and, of course, Dulwich himself-is also playing one of a number of deeper games. Grace is kidnapped; Knox is shot at; and the closer they get to their target, the more elusive he seems. That's not just because the characters are opaque; it's because brainy Pearson's plotting and writing are designed to impress and befuddle the gentle reader, who may feel as overwhelmed as the sorely tried principals. Filled with bromides about tradecraft-"We don't know who we're working for. We don't know who we're working against"; "[t]he easy answer is never the right one"; "too many unknowns"-that are all too appropriate to this Rubik's cube of a thriller.

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Starred review from May 1, 2014
Previous Risk Agent ops in Shanghai (The Risk Agent, 2012) and Amsterdam (Choke Point, 2013) featured Rutherford Risk operatives John Knox and Grace Chu on the hunt, but this installment is all about impossible escapes and elusive spycraft. The plan is for Knox and Chu to travel to Istanbul, broker the sale of a long-buried antiquity to one of Knox's current import/export clients, and finagle five minutes in the room with their mark, the client's brother. Despite pitching the mission as in and out, no action, chief operative David Dulwich claims the client's identity and the significance of their contact with the mark is need to know intel. And, according to him, they don't. But when Knox and Chu arrive in Istanbul, they spot operatives following their every move. Dissatisfied with Dulwich's unresponsiveness, technology-maven Grace does some unsanctioned digging and identifies the mark as an Iranian nuclear scientist, but she can't figure out the operation's objective. Then Grace is kidnapped, and the operatives who have been shadowing Knox start shooting to kill. Knox is caught in a catch-22: complete the mission blind, or bail on the op and burn his reputation in the import/export business. Another hit in this knockout thriller series featuring nonstop danger, casually clever descriptions of exotic locales, evolving characterization, and evenhanded sociopolitical commentary. Recommended for every beach bag.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)