Judas Horse

Starred review from December 17, 2007
At the start of Smith’s superb third thriller to feature Ana Grey (after 2003’s Good Morning, Killer
), the FBI special agent, who’s still recovering from post-traumatic stress disorder after shooting “a crazed detective on a suicide mission” seven months earlier, learns that the skeletal remains of her missing onetime fiancé, fellow special agent Steve Crawford, have turned up in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains. Ana later finds out Steve was murdered by members of an anarchist group with a penchant for homemade bombs. After training at the FBI’s undercover school, Ana uses an alias to penetrate the group, which includes a former FBI agent gone bad, Dan Stone. As “Allfather” Stone plots a terrorist act he calls “the Big One,” Ana must burrow through layers of paranoia to discover the precise threat the FBI is dealing with. Ana’s nuanced and coolly observational narrative voice perfectly complements the well-paced action, which builds to a satisfying conclusion that leaves open the next chapter of Ana’s story. 5-city author tour.

Starred review from January 15, 2008
In this sequel to "Good Morning, Killer", FBI Agent Ana Grey has just returned to the job from enforced time off when she is selected to go deep undercover to infiltrate a violent ecoterrorist group suspected of murdering a fellow agent. Although barely recovered psychologically from her previous mission, Ana eagerly takes on the very difficult task of being someone else completely while surrounded by people who will kill her if they discover the truth. Smith does a convincing job of conveying the trials of maintaining a dual identityis she Ana, or is she "Darcy," her undercover persona? As the story progresses, the border between the two blurs, and Ana's loyalties waver as she comes to understand the motivations of the various players. Thanks to a layer of informants and snitches among the agents handling Ana's assignment, things nearly blow apart both literally and figuratively. The narrative is fast-paced without becoming frantic, and the intertwining story lines are deftly handled. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 10/1/07.]Ann Forister, Roseville, CA

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 1, 2007
When FBI agent Steve Crawford is killed by a bomb in the remote Oregon wilderness, Special Agent Ana Grey goes deep undercover to investigate the death of her former lover, mentor, and friend. Crawford's murder is linked to a group of anarchists lurking behind the facade of the animal-rights organization Free Animals Now. (FAN's latest project is protecting the wild mustangs that roam the Oregon plains.) Still recovering from a shooting incident that landed her on administrative leave, Grey sheds her identity and becomes Darcy DeGuzman, a dark-haired drifter in search of a cause. She sidles her way into the lives of FAN's principal members: soft-hearted hippie Megan Tewksbury and her prickly husband, Julius Emerson Phelps. There's an intensity about Phelps that worries Grey from day one. Turns out, he's actually Dick Stone, a former agent gone bad. Can she outwit the cunning ex-G-man who knows every trick in the FBI's book? For Grey, navigating Stone's personality is like ?scratching a pit bull behind the ears.? The tension never lets up in this tautly plotted fourth thriller from Emmy-nominated television writer Smith (Good Morning, Killer, 2003). Fans of Michael Connelly are sure to savor this heart-stopper, which is easy to envision on the big or small screen.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)