On Edge

August 22, 2016
Fans of both military and mystery fiction will relish Ashforth's impressive sequel to 2012's The Rendition. In early 2013, Alex Klear, a retired U.S. Army intelligence officer, once again gives in to a demand to perform one more job for his country, this time in Afghanistan, where an old friend of his, Col. Peter Hansen, was the victim of an apparent "green-on-blue" killing (an Afghan soldier murdering an American soldier). In Kabul, Alex unearths evidence suggesting that the soldier accused of the crime was set up, and he concludes that the murder is connected to Pete's investigation of the collapse of the Kabul Bank, which went bankrupt in 2010. Meanwhile, with the date of U.S. withdrawal approaching, officials seem content to let circumstantial evidence close the case and ignore the conspiracy. Alex, stalwart and principled, pursues it to the shocking end. Ashforth, an Army veteran and former military contractor, skillfully conveys an insider's familiarity with the Afghan people and terrain, but he should abandon the "just one more mission" conceit and put Alex officially back into uniform for his next outing.

August 1, 2016
Ashforth's follow-up to The Rendition (2012) continues the adventures of U.S. Army Special Investigator Alex Klear in another solid story. Klear has retired and plans to marry, but when a colleague in Afghanistan murders a friend, he jumps to investigate. At first it appears to be a green-on-blue killing, where a trusted insider pulls the trigger. The more Klear looks into the case, though, he starts to realize that the wrong man has been accused, and it ties into one of the largest bank frauds in history. Ashforth writes a compelling tale that utilizes an actual historical scandalthe collapse of the Bank of Kabul in 2010. Klear wants answersand fastbecause he made a promise to his fiancee that he was finished with the military world. Ashforth brings a level of detail to the narrative that gives it a compelling authenticity. While another book featuring Klear would be welcome, romantics will hope that it doesn't come with too much of a personal cost for the beleaguered hero.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)