Customer Reviews

Dark Ambition

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Topol might be the most riveting spy-adventure writer in America today. Dark Ambition is his second novel, and it continues the pacing and excitement of Spy Dance, his first novel (which you should read immediately if you enjoy Dark Ambition).

Dark Ambition unveils the perplexing murder of an indiscreet Secretary of State, combining powerful maneuverings in Washington, tangled detective work, and underhanded court dealings. Various characters are linked to the murder, from corrupt Chinese government officials who detested the Secretary of State for his support of Taiwan's weapons' buildup, to the most intimate of the presidential Oval Office advisors.

The masterful plot moves seamlessly between Washington, China, Zurich, London, and New York, while at the novel's core is the American process of honest, courageous people battling bureaucracy to ascertain the truth. I found myself solidly immersed in Topol's multi-faceted conspiracy and am eagerly anticipating his next work.

This book was an excellent follow up to Topol's first book "Spy
Dance". In this book the Secretary of State Robert Winthrop is
murdered by a visitor named George Nesbitt who actually turns out to be Gwen a psycho contract killer. The blame for the crime is place on the Winthrop gardener Clyde Gillis.Assigned to prosecute the case in Ben Hartweel.Hired to defend Gillis is
Jennifer Moore an old love of Hartwell's.They launch a thorough
investigation. They discover ties to the Chinese government and a
huge conspiracy. The actual villains in this story will actually
shock you.This is an outstanding murder-mystery book that you
will enjoy. It is definitely enjoy. Definitely read this book.

This is another of Allan Topol's excellent books in the spy/mystery genre. It deals with what happens to people who are too close to the center of the government and their feelings that they are above the law and morality. The characters are well developed. I am writing this review during the 2012 Republican campaigns for nomination for the Presidency. Unfortunately, the corruptibility of those in power and those aspiring to those positions is too well seen. It has been said that, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." This well written book fictionalizes what we see in reality every day.

I thought this book was very well written, the ending was kind of stretched out but not too bad. The characters were well written and interesting and believable. Not super heros like some spy novels, and the villians were cunning, not paper tigers. I will definitely read another of his novels!!

This is quite a suspenseful and exciting read. The Secretary of State,a close friend of the President, is murdered in his home. The President wants the case solved quickly. There are false leads and his gardener is an early suspect. As the investigation broadens more candidates come into play. The Chinese had instigated a plot filming him while sexually involved with a woman. They anticipated that he could be blackmailed into dropping his support for Taiwan. Plenty of high level governmental intrigue involving the Secretary of Defense, the President's chief of staff,the head of operations for the CIA and a highly trained female assasin. I particulary enjoyed this read since the author concentrated on the plot without interjecting his ideological feelings as he has in some of his more recent writings.

This my first Topol book, and I really liked it, except for two major flaws: 1) all of the women Ben encounters are drop-dead georgeous, and 2) in the end four people are wounded and we never find out what happened to them. We know Gwen got killed, but what about Art, Traynor, Jim and Theo? Please don't do that to a reader from now on.

This book was an excellent follow up to Topol's first book "Spy
Dance". In this book the Secretary of State Robert Winthrop is
murdered by a visitor named George Nesbitt who actually turns out to be Gwen a psycho contract killer. The blame for the crime is place on the Winthrop gardener Clyde Gillis.Assigned to prosecute the case in Ben Hartweel.Hired to defend Gillis is
Jennifer Moore an old love of Hartwell's.They launch a thorough
investigation. They discover ties to the Chinese government and a
huge conspiracy. The actual villains in this story will actually
shock you.This is an outstanding murder-mystery book that you
will enjoy. It is definitely enjoy. Definitely read this book.

Very engaging and well written. It keeps you glued to your seat to the very end.

The State Department's Office of Diplomatic Security has two experienced agents guarding Secretary of State Robert Winthrop. After his wife Ann leaves, only gardener Clyde Gillis remains on the property until George Nesbitt arrives for his appointment. George is actually a woman who kills America's top diplomat before leaving for her home in Connecticut. Clyde finds the body, but fears what happened to his father in Mississippi will happen to him and flees the scene.

With strong circumstantial evidence, the FBI quickly concludes that Clyde killed Robert though no one can locate Nesbitt. Justice Department Attorney Ben Hartwell leads the prosecution team but also wants to insure that the government does not use Clyde as a convenient scapegoat just in case the man is innocent. Anne believes Clyde is innocent and hires her friend lawyer Jennifer Moore to defend him. Jennifer and Ben have a history, but both will do the right thing though that is not safe as this simple robbery gone bad case has more of an international flavor than either lawyer realizes.

Legal procedural fans will relish this strong novel starring a delightful duo, but the female assassin steals the plot. DARK AMBITION never slows down as the case against Clyde seems airtight and he changes his innocent attitude after a visit from the Connecticut killer. Readers will question more so than even Ben does how a vanished Nesbitt fails to place doubts on the case and why no one wonders why the missing visitor left no fingerprints in Winthrop's home. Still readers will follow the lead of the Attorney General's Office and not object because Allan Topal provides quite a thriller.

Harriet Klausner