The Gun Runner's Daughter

August 3, 1998
The complexity of the illegal arms trade comes to life in Gordon's chilling, richly intelligent second novel (after Sacrifice of Isaac). When Allison--nee Esther Rosenthal--learns that her father, the self-made New York representative of an Israeli weapons manufacturer, has been arrested for illegally selling arms to the Bosnian Muslims, her comfortable, sophisticated life (NYU Law School, summers on Martha's Vineyard) is totally upended. Not only does the case dominate the headlines, but the lead prosecutor against her father turns out to be a secret lover from her youth, a complication that forces her to make difficult choices about sacrifice and love. Furthermore, intrepid journalist Nicky Dymityck, who broke the story about her father, tries to get incriminating information from Allison about one of her father's colleagues who is running for the Senate. While addressing the complex ramifications of an international weapons free-for-all, Gordon creates an appealing heroine reminiscent of the biblical Esther--to whom he refers throughout the text--who must grapple with such compelling issues as familial loyalty, sibling incest, murder, the test of genuine friendship and the temptation to manipulate true love itself. In combining the riveting suspense of a political thriller with a character's evolution as the world around her changes dramatically, he adroitly manages an intricate page-turning plot, three-dimensional characters, unflagging suspense, intrigue and ardent romance in a narrative that will surely win a wide audience. Author tour. Agent, Eric Simonoff; editor, Jon Karp.

May 1, 1998
Gordon's first novel, Sacrifice of Isaac (LJ 3/15/95), brought him comparisons with Graham Green and John le Carre. His current literary thriller concerns a law student who confronts her father's illegal gun-running activities.

Starred review from August 1, 1998
Gordon's acclaimed first novel, "Sacrifice of Isaac" (1995), was built on the legacy of the Holocaust. His second, a masterful tale depicting nothing less than "a covert operation of the soul," is grounded in the shameful world of international arms dealing. Ronald Rosenthal, a tough Jew with the sort of connections that should prevent such a debacle, is arrested for arms export violations. To add irony to intrigue, his prosecutor is the son of a neighbor and a former lover of the gun runner's daughter. Allison, born Esther, is both stunning and cunning, a self-possessed heroine who lives up to her biblical namesake in her willingness to do anything to save her father. The sophistication of her plan, the risks she runs, and the diabolical performances she executes are spellbinding and surprisingly evocative. Gordon, the next link in the chain of Graham Greene, John le Carre, and Joan Didion, brings a subtle but potent poetic energy and distinctive Jewish sensibility to his ingenuous and riveting drama as he explores the moral dilemmas of those who inherit a world shaped by insidious lies and extravagant violence. ((Reviewed August 1998))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1998, American Library Association.)