Ultimate Weapon

November 24, 2008
The apparent intelligence snafus that led up to the Iraq War provide the backdrop for this intricately plotted thriller from bestselling British author Ryan (The One That Got Away
). Sarah Scott, a Cambridge University graduate student conducting nuclear research, goes missing just before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Her father, Nick Scott, a former SAS trooper who was captured in the first Gulf War and tortured in Saddam's dungeons, and Sarah's boyfriend, Jed Bradley, a current SAS member, join forces to find her. Naturally, Nick and Jed despise each other, but a lovely and extremely devious female intelligence agent makes sure they cooperate. Ryan, himself an SAS veteran of the first Gulf War, makes his two heroes' actions and motivations credible. The book offers an ingenious answer as to why Saddam was “really” overthrown, though those who know their armor may have a few nits to pick with how the author describes the way a Russian T-55 tank works.

September 1, 2008
The ultimate weapon in this gritty, violent, and action-packed novel is the secret of cold fusion, an almost mythical source of cheap energy that the oil barons would like to suppress. A young and brilliant female scientist has apparently discovered the secret and is kidnapped by Hussein's men in the days leading up to the 2003 Gulf War. When her father, a former member of Britain's elite Special Forces, the SAS, and her sometime boyfriend, also SAS, find out, the chase is on to rescue her and the secrets she may have discovered. Their search takes them to war-torn Iraq, where they have to fight their way in to save her and then fight their way back out. Complicating matters, the two men hate each other. This U.S. debut by Ryan, a former SAS member and author of numerous thrillers published in England, is a readable and fast-paced thriller, despite an implausible plot premise and some action that's way over-the-top. Recommended for larger collections.Robert Conroy, Warren, MI

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2008
A bestseller in the UK now makes it stateside. Battered during the first Gulf War, Nick Scott struggles to stay sober and build a relationship with his daughter, Sarah. Her boyfriend, Jed Bradley, is a Special Ops soldier heading into a secret mission in Iraq. The two men despise each other, but when Sarah disappears, they must work together to find the woman they love. Though the ending is never in doubt, the realistic main characters and the all-too-real setting of the Iraq War make this a worthwhile endeavor.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)