Amazon.com Review
When Special Envoy Toshio Hatanaka's body is found in a basement room of the United Nations headquarters a few days before a crucial General Assembly vote on admitting Japan to the Security Council, Sam Windrush, first deputy for UN Legal Affairs, is assigned to investigate what looks suspiciously like a homicide. Sam and Toshio have a special bond, forged when the envoy attempted to rescue Sam's late wife from the hands of Afghan tribesmen who attacked a refugee camp on the Pakistan border where she was part of a medical relief team. Toshio's death was particularly convenient for the pro-Japan forces at the UN, since he was about to unmask a money-laundering scheme in which the Japanese ambassador may have been implicated. And Sam's boss, whose future depends on getting Japan on the council, is stonewalling the investigation, as is Sam's lover, a key member of the legal team at the United States mission. And there are others at the UN who will stop at nothing to keep Sam from uncovering the truth about Toshio's death--even framing Rachel, Sam's vulnerable 18-year-old daughter, for murder.
Grant Sutherland's knowledge of the operational aspects of the United Nations bureaucracy as well as the intricacies of global diplomacy stand him in good stead here. Sam's inner conflict between loyalty to his deeply held values and to the mission he serves is clearly illuminated. Although the dramatic pacing leaves something to be desired, this somewhat dense but ultimately engrossing international thriller offers a perceptive take on a subject and organization that's usually ignored in the mystery genre. --Jane Adams
From Publishers Weekly
British author Sutherland's (Due Diligence and East of the City) insider depiction of the protected world of the United Nations, whether accurate or not, lends authenticity to a plot that on reflection may seem preposterous but is totally believable while racing through it. Sam Windrush, a U.N. legal affairs deputy, is thrown into the investigation and possible cover-up of the death of his pacifist friend, Toshio Hatanaka, a refugee specialist. Hatanaka was the negotiator three years earlier in a hostage situation in Pakistan, during which Sam's wife was murdered. Hatanaka's body turns up just as the General Assembly is about to vote on giving Japan a permanent seat on the Security Council. Aided by the deputy head of U.N. security, Sam unearths backstabbing, pretentiousness, deception and fear beneath a veneer of international amity. Suspicion points to several high-ranking U.N. diplomats, with the inquiry uncovering fraud on top of murder. Sam must cope with mysterious forces trying to quash the investigation, as well as with his teenage daughter Rachel, recently recovered from anorexia, being wrongfully accused of Hatanaka's murder. In a novel where almost every big shot has a motive, the fluky unmasking of the real killer may seem a bit of a cheat, especially when the unsuspected culprit's reasons for the deed turn out to be very personal. Nonetheless, the author uses the rarified world of the U.N. to his advantage in a fast-paced novel that will keep readers engaged. (May 8)Forecast: Since this is Sutherland's first novel to be published in the U.S., Bantam is making a concerted promotional effort, including a generous distribution of advance reading copies. An attractive jacket and the unusual U.N. setting should also help sales, as will enthusiastic blurbs from Christopher Reich and Stephen White.
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