Black: A Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Christopher Whitcomb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2005

A fifteen-year member of the FBI who received its coveted Medal of Bravery, former agent Christopher Whitcomb electrified readers with his breathtaking memoir, Cold Zero. Now his remarkable past and hard-edged prose illuminate his highly acclaimed first thriller... Selected for the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team, Special Agent Jeremy Waller is about to fight terrorism at its source-by diving headlong into a violent world of trapdoor truths and shifting alliances. And he'll have company: a beautiful executive more adept at murder than marketing who turns his assignment into a cipher...a ruthless tycoon set on selling a revolutionary technology to terrorists...and a female senator and presidential hopeful charged with an unspeakable crime. Here there is no justice-and only one way out of the darkness: Head even deeper into the shadows...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Whitcomb (Cold Zero: Inside the FBI Hostage Rescue Team) parlays the experiences and expertise of a 15-year career with the FBI into a cutting-edge counterterrorism thriller. Imaginative plotting, rock-solid prose, fascinating technology and blasts of furious action will hold readers hostage until the last surprising pages. Whitcomb deftly shuffles a quartet of intriguing characters—Jeremy Waller, a member of the elite, top-secret FBI hostage rescue team; Sen. Elizabeth Beechum, chair of the Senate intelligence committee; Jordan Mitchell, the cold, brilliant CEO of Borders Atlantic, the world's largest telecommunications company; and beautiful Sirad Malneaux, an executive in the Borders Atlantic Atlanta office—who, except for Mitchell, soon face extraordinary danger. Jeremy must kill or be killed in Yemen; Senator Beechum is attacked in her home and later charged with murdering her attacker; and Sirad has a secret agenda that pits her against her employers. Only Mitchell, the puppet master, remains in control. His new Borders Atlantic super cell phone boasts "a totally secure, low-cost encryption system that would allow virtually any subscriber to communicate without fear of interception," which, of course, makes it a perfect tool for terrorists. Eventually, the four related stories meld into one, and on the final pages jaws will drop as readers find that everything they thought they knew about the story was wrong. This is a stellar thriller from an exciting new voice.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

FBI special agent Jeremy Waller finds himself plunged into the Black, the agency term for an off-the-books mission with no backup. His job is to get to the bottom of the most explosive scandal in American political history. Elizabeth Beechum, the presumptive Democratic nominee in the upcoming presidential elections and the chairperson of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is accused of murdering a National Security Council attorney. The key issue surrounding her case is her opposition to a new, encrypted cell-phone technology that is virtually impossible to tap. Since 80 percent of U.S. intelligence is gathered via intercepted communication, the new technology could be devastating to national security. Is Beechum being framed, and if so, by whom and why? Whitcomb, a former FBI agent and author of the nonfiction best-seller Cold Zero: Inside the FBI Hostage Rescue Team (2001), uses his insider knowledge of the bureau and the Beltway to create a compelling context--character assassination taken to the next level--for a political thriller. Entertaining election-year reading. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 488 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (July 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446611832
• ISBN-13: 978-0446611831
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,543,565 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another one hit out of the park, May 30, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Black: A Novel (Hardcover)

As a follow up to Cold Zero, Black obviously tells the story that couldn't be told in non-fiction. A great story that will keep you turning pages well into the night, and then as you stay awake replaying the "could that really happen" scenarios in your head, you're sure to be exhausted the next morning. If you weren't sold on Whitcomb's talent as a writer from his first book or numerous magazine and newspaper articles, Black will definately convince you. Let's hope we don't have to wait long for the next book by this guy.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New age intrigue, June 1, 2004

By 

John M. ccc (Franklin, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Black: A Novel (Hardcover)

Black grabs you immediately, then takes you on a high speed international trip at race pace.
The characters met, detailed precision technology presented, the introduction of new age weaponry, all combine to capture, maintain and escalate the reader's interest.
As the main characters paths weave in and out Black builds continually through to the very last page.
Combining of the multiple plot threads is masterful.
When you do reach the end you will anxiously await a follow on.
A great read, done by someone that obviously knows the subject matter very well.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BLACK: a timely adventure., May 30, 2004

By 

Mike Kalette (Stafford Springs, Ct USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black: A Novel (Hardcover)

As a fan of W.E.B. Griffin and Tom Clancy's style of writing, I found BLACK engrossing, fast paced, and unpredictable. I am always drawn to stories where I feel I am being brought alongside the adventures of the characters, and not told of them.

The main characters in BLACK kept me looking forward to the next page and next stage of adventure. If you have read "Cold Zero", by this author, you will feel right at home with the FBI'S Hostage Rescue Team, and associated personnel. Jeremy Waller is a new member of "HRT" and is faced with many twists and turns on a professional level as well as trying to cope with the emotional toll his new assignment brings.

The plot takes us from the political intrigue of Washington, to the deserts of Yemen. You will need your own passport to keep up with the contents of this book!