Last Days of the Condor

December 8, 2014
A man with the work name Vin assumes the CIA code name made famous by Grady’s 1974 bestseller, Six Days of the Condor, in the slow, unengaging third novel in this spy series. A former agency operative put into protective custody years ago for reasons that aren’t explained, Vin/Condor has a low-level job at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., where he sorts books discarded by military bases. His handler, Homeland Security agent Faye Dozier, checks in on him periodically. On one visit to Condor’s apartment, Faye discovers her partner, known only as Bald Peter, crucified on a wall with his eyes gouged out. A confusing, ponderous chase ensues as Condor and Faye join forces to escape the assassins who killed Bald Peter and tried to frame Condor. The muddled mess of a plot is made worse by a mix of first-person and interior monologue that leaves the reader starved for context. Agent: David Hale Smith, Inkwell Management.