The Cold War has just ended, but spymaster Burke Hill learns of a plot that could create havoc in the Far East. As he tracks down the facts in South Korea, he faces a ruthless assassin determined to stop him.
The Cold War has ended, but a reliable report reveals a plot that could throw the Far East into turmoil. Burke Hill, clandestine director for a Washington PR firm that's a CIA spinoff, is tasked to find the truth about a secret agreement for Israel to help South Korea develop nuclear weapons. This follows the new Seoul government's request that all U.S. troops be withdrawn. Further complicating the situation, a bomb decimates the North Korean leadership in Pyongyang. As Hill soon discovers, a nuclear test is scheduled in a few months. He finds a diligent Seoul Metropolitan Police detective investigating a series of murders he believes are targeted at civilian leaders who favor close cooperation with America. And Captain Yun Yu-sop has identified a ruthless Korean assassin who targets anyone who stands in the way, including himself and Burke Hill.
Excerpt
Burke chose his words with care. "We could probably wangle an interview with Kingsley Marshall, if we insisted on it. But in case you weren't aware, Mr. Shallit, my involvement in that operation was strictly at the behest of Cam Quinn. I was never a CIA employee. They'd never have laid on that public ceremony at the White House if I had been. Neither Lori nor I have any direct connection to the Agency any more."
"All I ask," said Shallit, "is that you deliver a message to Mr. Marshall. It won't be a pleasant one, I'm afraid."
"That sounds ominous," Lori said.
"As I mentioned at our first meeting, I am no longer active as an intelligence officer. But my company develops and maintains the software used by the Institute, so I still enjoy close contacts there."
Burke nodded. Mossad officers used "Institute" the way some CIA people referred to Langley as the "Agency." The Israeli service's official name was the Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations.
Shallit explained there were a few things so highly classified they were never even put into the computers. But, of course, if they were recorded on paper, they had to be logged through the document registry system. An old Mossad colleague was in charge of the registry and handled one of these super-secret documents in the not too distant past. Quite by accident, he got a peek beyond the cover sheet. Curious, he read on. Shocked at what he read, he had worried over it for months and finally confided in Ben Shallit.
"A lot of Israelis are not too happy about the trend of events and the way our government has handled them," Shallit said.
"Are you referring to the new move toward negotiations with the Palestinians?" Burke asked.
"As you know, the question of peace with the Arabs has been a sore spot with your government. The hardliners in Jerusalem claim you're in bed with the enemy as a result of the Gulf War and its aftermath. There has been much fear that the United States will curtail its aid to Israel."
That brought Lori forward in her chair. "Israel has received more American aid than any other country since World War II," she said.
"True, but your Congress seems determined to cut spending, and foreign aid could be next. Post-communism and unrest in the Middle East have changed the playing field. I'm sure you're aware of what happened in Israel recently. Our government moved to create new markets and new sources of cash by concluding a pact with the new regime in South Korea. According to the announced terms, we provide them with the latest in civilian and military technology; they give us economic assistance and heavy machinery."
"Frankly, I was pretty surprised at it," Burke said, tilting his head to one side. "I thought the Koreans had chosen to be on the Arabs' side to keep the oil flowing."
Shallit gave him an indulgent smile. "That was the case, previously. But with all the realignments taking place around the globe, world politics has an interesting way of reversing the old order. The Russians badly need spendable cash. And since their former clients in Eastern Europe are short of cash themselves, they signed a hard currency deal to sell oil to South Korea. That freed the Koreans to negotiate the agreement with Israel."
Burke nodded. "From what I've heard, the new bunch in Seoul is highly nationalistic. No doubt that's why they wanted to forge new alliances outside the old American protective umbrella. They're apparently making lots of changes. I don't know how good a move it was, but Congress sure jumped for joy when they asked us to bring the rest of our troops home."
"From what my friend saw," Shallit said, his gaze growing more intense, his voice lowered almost to a whisper, "I judge they don't want Americans around looking over their shoulders. The document he read was a highly secret addendum to the agreement between Israel and South Korea. Under its terms, we're providing the Koreans an initial supply of weapons grade uranium, plus a reprocessing plant to separate fissionable materials from spent uranium."
Burke stared at him in disbelief. "The waste that comes from nuclear power plants?"
"Yes. It would give them the ability to build weapons quickly, and on a sustained basis. We're also providing technology. The project was to begin immediately, with the highest priority. The secrecy surrounding it, of course, is absolute."
Professional Reviews
A Unique Thriller
Best known for a series of mystery novels, Chester Campbell has returned to an earlier love with this, the second of a new series of espionage thrillers.
The novel is an intriguing ride spread across a broad canvass, including episodes in the U.S., Europe, North and South Korea and Thailand. A unique twist that initially gave me pause was casting South Koreans rather than the North as villains. As you read, you'll realize the brilliance of that ploy.
One issue that could be distracting for some readers is the large cast of characters, many of them with significant roles in the story. To help alleviate confusion, Campbell has included a list of the major characters and their roles.
The story focuses primarily on two of these characters, Burke Hill, who was protagonist of the first of this series, and Capt. Yun Yu-sop, a homicide detective with the Seoul Metropolitan Police. They team up after Hill, clandestine director of a CIA spinoff, arrives in Seoul to investigate mysterious activities of the South Korean government which threaten stability of the entire Pacific region. Yun, who I personally found the more interesting of the two characters, is on the trail of an assassin when he meets Burke. Neither is immediately aware of how their investigations connect.
Providing a human aspect often missing from this type of thriller is Hill's plight in being separated by duty from his pregnant wife when she is nearing delivery of their child.
The word poksu of the title (loosely interpreted as vengeance) has a double meaning in the story, though that doesn't become apparent till near the end. The novel is well researched, revealing interesting details of Korean history and culture. Those insights were gained in part by his own visits to the Land of the Morning Calm in the 1950s and again in the 1980s. As one who also lived and worked in South Korea, I recognized many of the places and scenes he describes.
While the plot may seem far-fetched, experience should tell us anything is possible these days. Campbell's tale is well-drawn with richly defined characters, enough action to satisfy even the most jaded of readers and an absorbing plot. Highly recommended.
When I wrote ths book in 2000, I was concerned about children having access to the Internet and to chat rooms where "you can be anyone you want." Here we are many years later and the situation with children talking freely to stangers on the Internet
Boom! Pain! Blackness!
After an RPG attack on their barracks in Afghanistan, corpsmen, Amber Fox and Luke Owens wake up in an Army hospital in Germany.
Thus, begins a four-month recovery for both of them. Amber lost her left leg bel
