Obliged to leave New York City in the aftermath of his previous mission, David Trevellyan is summoned to the British Consulate in Chicago―the same office where, just weeks before, his new handler was attacked and shot by a Royal Navy Intelligence operative gone bad. His new To find the rogue agent and put an end to his treacherous scheme. But soon Trevellyan finds that, once again, his only hopes of saving countless innocent lives lie not within the system, but in his own instincts and skills. Trust is an illusion―believe in the wrong person, and it will get you killed…
Die Twice, Andrew Grant
I probably should sit down and give a detailed, reasoned and careful analysis of DIE TWICE by Andrew Grant. But can I just go with "I really liked this book". Because "I really liked this book".
I'm not sure why to be frank. Perhaps it was the structure - I liked the opening of chapters laying out a principle that the central character David Trevellyan learnt in basic training, which he then went on to demonstrate. Perhaps it was the level of action which was fast paced, tight and very nicely done. Perhaps it was the character of David Trevellyan, a bit of a later day James Bond with a considerably sharper edge. Perhaps it was because DIE TWICE is a spy thriller with double-crossing, intrigue, a ridiculously high body count and a lot of nefarious goings-on.
Sticking pretty closely to spy thriller scenarios there are plot points that won't stand a lot of scrutiny and there's a hefty dose of energiser bunny about the central character, but I still found this a very good example of its kind. Interestingly, I haven't read the first book in the series, but that didn't seem to detract at all. Everything I needed to know about David Trevellyan I found out, or could work out. Everything I needed to know about his role as general problem-solver for the British Consulate I could glean. In short - "I really liked DIE TWICE".