The Expediter (A Kirk McGarvey Novel) [Mass Market Paperback]

David Hagberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2009

Late one balmy summer evening in Pyongyang, an important Chinese intelligence general on his way to a secret meeting with Kim Jon-Il is assassinated in plain sight of a surveillance camera. The two shooters are wearing the uniforms of North Korean police officers.

Kim Jong-Il denies any knowledge of the shooting, but the Chinese do not believe him. As they prepare to attack, Jong-Il promises to unleash his nuclear weapons on downtown Beijing, Seoul, and Tokyo, plunging the entire region into nuclear war.

Kirk McGarvey, just off a difficult assignment that took him to Mexico City, has returned to his visiting professorship at the University of South Florida. A colonel in North Korea's intelligence service shows up in person, asking McGarvey to prove that North Korea did not authorize the hit.

It's the most extraordinary request McGarvey has ever received. He enters a dangerous international shadow world where almost nothing is as it seems. The puzzles lead him to a mysterious Russian ex-KGB multimillionaire whose specialty is expediting assassins for hire, to Pyongyang where he finds the wedge to open up a far-reaching plot so monstrous the entire world could go up into flames, and finally back to the one nation that potentially has the most to gain by such a war.

And the most to lose . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When two people in North Korean police uniform gun down Gen. Ho Chang Li, an important Chinese intelligence official, in Pyongyang, the prospect of nuclear war between China and North Korea becomes all too real in this routine political thriller from Hagberg (Soldier of God). North Korean intelligence officer Pak Hae, who must prove that his country's leader, Kim Jong Il, didn't order the hit on Ho, turns for help to former CIA director Kirk McGarvey, whose previous successes include killing Osama bin Laden. Pak has captured one of the two assassins, who under interrogation has revealed that he worked for a Russian paymaster. As McGarvey gets on the trail of those behind Ho's murder, the search follows predictable lines, including a hunt for a high-ranking traitor within the CIA. Readers looking for the insight into North Korean society offered by James Church's Inspector O novels (Bamboo and Blood, etc.) will be disappointed. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"* "David Hagberg writes the most realistic, prophetic thrillers I have ever read. His books should be required reading in Washington." - Stephen Coonts"

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; First Edition edition (December 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765349809
• ISBN-13: 978-0765349804
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #170,332 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

DAVID HAGBERG is a former Air Force cryptographer who has traveled extensively in Europe, the Arctic, and the Caribbean and has spoken at CIA functions. He has published more than twenty novels of suspense, including the bestselling Joshua's Hammer, Soldier of God, and Allah's Scorpion. He makes his home in Sarasota, Florida.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Does Kirk McGarvey ever sleep?, May 11, 2009

By 

Robert C. Olson (Vacaville, California USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Expediter (Mcgarvey) (Hardcover)

Does Kirk McGarvey ever sleep?
David Hagberg gets better with each new suspense novel. Able to keep his characters growing and energetic, The Expediter is simply a well written thriller that will hold your enthusiasm throughout the hectic worldwide pace. Although in his fifties and a little long in the tooth, protagonist Kirk McGarvey is able to maintain a solid presence and keep the action driving forward without a moments rest. How does he do it? Must use a lot of Viagra and V8 because he expends prodigious amount of energy in this top notch thriller.
The story centers on who and why did 2 South Korean ex-special forces snipers posing as North Korean police kill a high ranking Chinese general in Pyongyang, North Korea. The mysterious killing creates extreme tensions between China and North Korea that appears to be heading for all out nuclear war between not only them but the entire Far East. Enter the indomitable ex-Director of the CIA Kirk McGarvey, who is asked by a North Korean operative, with the approval of Dear Leader Kim Jong-Il, to convince China that North Korea had nothing to do with the assassination. And the story takes off at a dizzying pace, as the two Asian nations inch closer to nuclear war. Lots of action and interaction between good guys, bad guys, politicians, state leaders, family, friends, and whoever else Mr. Hagberg can throw into the bubbling international pot of intrigue.
Continued good character development both from the usual cast of Hagberg characters plus new plot characters. Excellent historical reference and associated development.
Some violence but not excessive. No gratuitous sex or language.
Hearty recommend if you like international suspense thrillers. Mr. Hagberg is a good solid writer who knows how to develop his characters and story to their fullest potential. From the excellent ending, there can be no doubt where the next Kirk McGarvey book is going. I just hope that Kirk is not too long in the tooth to take us there.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Saving the world as we know it yet AGAIN! Kirk ROCKS..., June 10, 2009

By 

Jeff Edwards "RadioJeff" (Twin Falls, Idaho) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Expediter (Mcgarvey) (Hardcover)

There are only so many sure bets in life...death, taxes and a David Hagberg thriller. 'The Expediter' is NO exception to Mr. Hagberg's impressive and growing collection of action/adventure novels. I've often said that Kirk McGarvey could wipe the floor with Jack Bauer, Indiana Jones, Dirk Pitt and any other number of action heroes--and do it smarter, too. This book only helped solidify my belief.

The way David Hagberg has an absolute CLEAR understanding of the world, it's leaders and potential/catastrophic possibilities we have/could/will face is absolutely weird. My first recollection of Osama Bin Laden was reading about him in 'Joshua's Hammer'...and man was that a hum dinger of a McGarvey tale! As of late, one of the main countries at the forefront of political unrest is North Korea, led by the difficult-to-define, Kim Jong (mentally) Il. You would think the LAST thing on anyone's mind is how do we help solve a potential world-class incident brewing between North Korea and China...however Mr. Hagberg once again rips a page out of a future edition of USA Today and tells us what MAY (or possibly WILL) happen if this type of situation sees the light of day (let us pray it never does).

Did North Korea plan and carry out an assassination of a Chinese General? And if not, WHO is responsible for this act and better yet, how can they prove it before a nuclear meltdown results between the two increasingly unstable countries? Getting Kirk to agree to this whole operation was some pretty good storytelling right there, but thankfully, Hagberg made the rest of the novel good as well.

What can I say that hasn't been said before about McGarvey? Without a doubt he is my #1 favorite action/adventure spy in print. I wonder just how much more Kirk can take, leading me to wonder how many more novels we'll get to see featuring him, but that's okay, I'm sure when Mr. Hagberg finally decides to lay him to rest his endless well of creativity will give us someone equally as entertaining to enjoy...although if I can be honest, I am NOT looking forward to it.

Long live Kirk McGarvey!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another decent read/But!!!, February 8, 2010

By 

Greg Erdman (Big Bend, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Expediter (A Kirk McGarvey Novel) (Mass Market Paperback)

Another decent read from Hagberg but an "H&K MP3" room broom and a cell phone with a "dialtone"???

Hagbergs attention to detail is usually better than that. I know it's picky but from an author with this rep it cuts into his credibility. Makes you wonder if he has some ghost writers that are not as up to speed as he his. Or maybe its just an editing error. Still a fun read however.