Retribution

Starred review from December 24, 2012
In this standout thriller, Magson’s fourth featuring Harry Tate (after 2012’s Deception), the former MI5 agent pursues a deadly terrorist, Kassim, who comes out of the remote hills of Afghanistan in 2012 and starts killing members of the KFOR team that Harry led in Mitrovica, Kosovo, in 1999. One night back then, Harry and his men took refuge in a container depot, where that same night a local 14-year-old girl was raped and killed. Circumstantial evidence suggests the culprit was a U.N. soldier. A high-ranking U.N. security official Harry knows hires him to warn the surviving members of the team and to hunt down the assassin who’s seeking revenge for the girl’s death. Harry and computer whiz pal Rik Ferris jet around the world, always arriving just a little too late to prevent another murder. There’s plenty of action, but the thrill is following Harry’s agile mind as he figures out the who, what, where, and why of these revenge killings. Think le Carré and Deighton rather than Thor and Flynn. Agent: David Headley, DHH Literary (U.K.).

Starred review from December 1, 2012
ExMI5 agent Harry Tate returns in another pulse-pounding thriller that's chockablock with nail-biting suspense and high-octane action. Harry has reluctantly accepted a mission that takes him back to his days as part of a UN close-protection team in Kosovo. Someone seems to believe that a member of Harry's team brutally raped and murdered a 14-year-old Kosovar girl. If the accusation is true, it will be a PR disaster for the UN, so they hire Harry to find out what really happened. But the PR impact of the case pales when Harry learns that someone is out to avenge the girl's death by killing every member of the close-protection team. The killer seems able to move around the world at will, and he's strong enough to overpower even the most physically fit of Harry's former team. With three team members already dead, time is running out for Harry to stop the killer. With a visit to Kosovo planned by Special UN Envoy Anton Kleeman, Harry is sure the killer will use the opportunity to ram his message of hatred and revenge home in a way designed to cause maximum fallout for the UN. A mesmerizing read and a top pick for all crime collections.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)