Customer Reviews

The Last Spymaster

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I was once told by a friend who had been offerred the job of CIA Director and declined, that there "are no more spymasters."

Well, thanks to Gayle Lynds, he was wrong. There is one. His name is Jay Tice and he has just broken out of prison. One he was put into as a result of traitorous activities against the United States. One that was considered escape proof.

To try and tell you much more than that can be to spoil the story which is full of deception, intrigue and suspense.

There is a huge illegal arms sale afoot. If completed it will shift technological advantage in sophisticated weaponry to the terrorists. Stopping that sale is the objective of the good guys in the book. But, which ones are the good guys? That is for the reader to discover.

Ms. Lynds tells this story in a most believeable and entertaiing way which makes the act of reading a pure pleasure. This is a keeper.

With the debut of _The Last Spymaster_, veteran novelist Gayle Lynds has soldified her reign as the true "Queen of Suspense".

Jay Tice is a seasoned "spymaster" who is serving a life sentence in a federal penitentiary. Somehow, against all odds, he escapes and is now being tracked by Elaine Cunningham, an intelligent, but washed-up CIA "hunter". Elaine must get to Tice and have him captured before his escape is made public. As she follows clues that lead her closer and closer to Tice, she becomes an unwilling participant in an even wider conspiracy. Those she trusts are savagely murdered as her own life hangs in the balance. The hunter now becomes the hunted; and how it all ends is absolutely ingenious.

Every chapter of this novel plays a crucial role in the unraveling of the plot. There are no extraneous words or characters. Gayle Lynds takes us on a roller coaster ride through many international (and some surprise national) settings and introduces us to a myriad of colorful characters. I am stunned at the sheer genius of this work. It reminds me of Ludlum when he was at his peak. I seriously would not wait to pick this up at the library. If you are a devoted thriller fan, then this one belongs on your shelf alongside the best of them.

A couple of caveats: Lynds takes her time to give you a complete and thorough lay of the land in the first part of the book. Stay with it. Everything she does here serves a bigger purpose. The pace picks up very quickly shortly thereafter, but without this thorough "briefing" you would miss a few important nuances as the story unfolds. Secondly, watch what the characters DO as well as what they SAY in the first part. Their meticulous actions lay the foundation for an electrifying conclusion.

It just doesn't get any better than this.

Enjoy!

Gayle Lynds best work to date, The Last Spymaster straddles the hazy void that separates The Cold War and The War on Terror, and sets the scene for a new generation of spies to inhabit our imagination.

In this wonderfully written and breakneck paced novel, Lynds demonstrates that however menacing the treat of terrorism is, the gravest threat to Western nations is our abandonment of conscience. Whereas honor once defined Western masculinity, those who still claim it as their own are few and far between, and more often than not very old men, or women.

Deftly interweaving the public and private lives of her characters, Lynds demonstrates that private life is the foundation of morality and that true morality begins with the commitment to the mother one's children and to those children themselves. But is the man who is true to his family, most often the man who is true to his country? You'll have to read The Last Spymaster to find out.

Jay (great name for a leading man) Tice, Spymaster and traitor's escape from Federal prison triggers the reactivation of a group of Cold War warriors set on hunting one of today's most lethal and fanatical terrorist organizations. But each step is marked by betrayal, and in a plot that twists and turns more energetically than a worm with a fork through its middle, Lynds reveals her characters ambitions, loves and disappointments.

This is an exciting, entertaining and meaningful thriller; one I'd have no hesitation recommending.

When was the last time that you got so caught up with a book that you really lost track of time? When was the last time that the characters in a book you were reading became so real to you that you started to think about them when you weren't even reading the book? When was the last time that you actually had to cover the opposite side of the page so your wandering eyes wouldn't spoil the surprise in the next several lines? I bet you're going reply that it's been a long, long time. Well, THIS is the book you want to whisk you away to another world....the world of espionage. No , not the dry, uncompromising world of espionage that we typically think of when we hear that but rather one filled with intrigue as well as twists and turns on every page.....characters that are so fully developed that you do think of them as real that you truly care about...or, in the case of a couple, come to detest!!! Gayle Lynds had set the bar so high for herself with her previous gems that it amazed me that she even topped herself with this phenomenal book. This is the consummate suspense thriller... relentlessly chilling with a shattering climax!!! Ohhhh but the epilogue...just wait until you read that...brought tears to my eyes....reallly!!!! One final thing....the writing is so incredible that there are no words to describe just how good it is....so, find out for yourself and grab THE LAST SPYMASTER as fast as you can ... shut off the phones so as to wallow in this seductive thriller....you will not be disappointed!!! Trust me!

In THE LAST SPYMASTER, Gayle Lynds' riveting suspense embedded with literary finesse eclipses thriller stars John Le Carre and Robert Ludlum at the peak of their form. Unlike Le Carre's exhaustive angst and Ludlum's lengthy detours into topics or causes that fascinated him, Gayle's economy of language makes her political point without wasting a word while engaging the readers' eyes, ears, nose and heart.

Sprinkled throughout are awesome examples of:

ALLITERATION--Dense forests flowed dark; as the dark night deepened toward dawn; footsteps echoing in the emptiness;

SIMILES--She seemed to shrink, grow calcified, as hard as a tombstone;

METAPHORS--Bolts of silver lightning speared the distant Alps;

IMAGERY--She found a slot in which to wedge the Jag; sunlight filtered down in strawlike rays;

and POETIC RHYTHMS--His family. But not his family. A charade, a farce, a travesty of the living and the dead. His eyes felt hollow.

Such literary devices are what writing groups and English professors can use as models of powerful literature, but if readers miss them, it is because they are stitched in seamlessly to Gayle's prose.

THE LAST SPYMASTER is a classic because no one element or technique stands out over another--the sum of the parts makes it one great read and Gayle's best work. She gives us superb storytelling at supersonic speed and sets the bar, not only for her own future novels but also for every other author in the thriller genre. In character development, for instance, individual idiosyncrasies that distinguish her previous heroines in `Masquerade' (Asperger's syndrome), `Mesmerized' (cellular memory), `Mosaic' (conversion disorder) and `The Coil' (a peacenik aversion to violence) make way for broader scope. This time she tackles the universal flaws of globalization within today's political framework in her portrayal of power brokers--whether greedy or altruistic--competing in the war on terrorism.

Jay Tice, one of the legendary chiefs of the CIA in the Cold War, is a turncoat. Convicted of selling secrets, he's languishing in the formidable Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex in Pennsylvania, when he suddenly disappears. His locked cell is empty. Current CIA Deputy Chief Lawrence Litchfield engages a top CIA hunter, Elaine Cunningham, to track him down. She's a woman with her own psychological baggage, but gifted in probing the psyches of her prey. As she zeroes in on Tice, she becomes his target, and discovers nothing is as it seems. Instead, she finds, in the clandestine world of black ops, there are illegal arms dealers, information traders and cover-ups far more dangerous to the free world than one man's treachery. She joins forces with Tice to hunt down the real traitor before terrorists take possession of a shipment of top-secret, cutting-edge technology that can destroy automated intelligence networks worldwide and throw the `infidels' into chaos.

Using her characters' perspectives and personal agendas, Gayle masterminds a maze of crossover subplots and merges them on the final ramp of "the last spymaster's" odyssey. Also weaving through the maze is a classic love tale between Tice and his former double agent from the East, Raina Manhardt. They are lovers who are sadly doomed yet deeply passionate without being sexually explicit. That's art. And in addition to compelling storytelling, the ultra `smart' inventions and security technologies Gayle introduces make Orwell's vision of the future seem primitive.

Against such a backdrop of global conspiracy, I looked for cynicism or disillusionment seeping into Gayle's writing, because the more we learn the more we see how much our governments lie to us. Instead, with a keen journalist's nose for truth, she relentlessly sniffs out the corruptive realities existing inside the covert catacombs of international intelligence, while keeping her eye on the ultimate sacrifices and dedication of those who serve to protect us.

As Gayle explains in a Question and Answer dialogue with readers, "Holding on to one's ideals while working for a better world is the most difficult personal challenge. Those who succeed against such odds are the stuff of quiet legend, occasionally receiving secret honors and awards, and living out their days without telling tales . . . They pay high prices personally, and they deserve our respect."

THE LAST SPYMASTER chronicles such hope in a `tour de force' that catapults Gayle Lynds to the top of the thriller genre. As a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Operatives, the Military Writers Society of America and co-founder/co-president of the International Thriller Writers, Inc., she can be proud of the brilliant work she has delivered to represent their high ideals of service.

This novel's release was delayed by the illness, then death, of the author's husband, Dennis Lynds (aka, Michael Collins). The novel was worth waiting for.

Espionage is a shadowy world having two parts. The first part is gathering information. The second part is deception, i.e., giving misinformation to your enemies. The second part is undoubtedly the trickiest. To deceive the enemy, how much do you sacrifice to validate the deception? Do you sacrifice lives, maybe even your own? If you are using double agents, who are they really working for? There are large amounts of money floating around, and some people work both sides of the street.

Jay Tice, former CIA, was convicted of being a traitor and sent to a federal prison. Now he has disappeared from his cell. Elaine Cunningham has a specialty in finding people. She has been sent by the CIA to track him down, but all is not as it seems. There are other players in the game, and some people want Tice dead. There is a major international arms deal going down, selling stolen high tech. People with knowledge of the deal are having accidents, and someone tries to take out Elaine.

Moles abound. Jay needs to activate his old group, bringing people out of retirement for one last mission, but who can he trust. The group was betrayed in the past. People appear from his past including a former lover and a dangerous terrorist. There is an information source known only by the code name Moses. As the situation develops, Jay has some assets of his own, including a few surprises. He played in the major leagues, and can still hold his own.

The novel is well researched and well written. The reader is drawn into the plot as the situation develops. Perhaps the novel is being released at the optimum time, as the CIA is changing leadership, and questions are being raised about intelligence activities.

Readers who like this novel may also be interested in Joseph Finder's latest novel, "Killer Instinct," where similar skills are applied in a corporate environment. Readers are also referred to the short story, "The Old Spies Club," by Edward D. Hoch which will be found in "The Best American Mystery Stories 1998," edited by Sue Grafton.

Jay Tice is a spymaster. To say that he was a perfect spy would be to overstate his skill, but he was one of the best. He could run any operation and work with anyone and produce amazing results. He was skilled at going undercover and off the grid and getting the job done. He was one of America's best spies...until he betrayed his country, was arrested, and was placed in a prison that makes maximum security look weak. Except for the massive amount of distrust in the intelligence community after the Deputy Director of Operations for the CIA (Tice) turned out to be a spy, things were as good as they could be. The bad guy was behind bars. Until he walked out of prison unseen.

Elaine Cunningham is a hunter. Her job for the CIA is to find people who don't want to be found. She's good. Not the best, but very good. She is viewed as unreliable because a person tragedy years before had changed how she worked. With the best hunters in the CIA already out on other jobs, Cunningham is assigned the case to find Tice. She has 48 hours or the search will fall under the jurisdiction of the FBI and Tice's escape becomes public knowledge. It would then be one more failure of the CIA and Intelligence in a post 9/11 world.

What I expected from this novel and what I got are two different things. I am familiar with the work of Gayle Lynds and have read all but one of her solo novels (she has written a couple with Robert Ludlum). I expected 300-400 pages of fast paced search with a cat and mouse game between Tice and Cunningham. The Last Spymaster is quite a bit different, though there are hints of my expectation early on. To say what this novel is truly about would more than ruin the surprise and would rob some of the pleasure of reading the novel. Gayle Lynds writes fast paced espionage fiction. I shudder to use cliches like "a roller coaster ride" or "break neck speed", but The Last Spymaster reads with a very fast pace. Lynds gives the reader more than enough to get involved with the characters and be interested in figuring out where she is going with the novel, but she briskly moves the story and plot along. It works. I was more than impressed by The Coil and enjoyed The Last Spymaster just as much. Lynds is not bogged down with the minutia of spy work as you get in the early LeCarre, but she gives a good modern day take on espionage and what it might look like and what the stakes are now. The Cold War spy novel has been done to death and I think that the Post-Cold War spy novel is only just being explored in regards to what sort of story can and will be told. Now adding a Post 9/11 reality, Lynds is able to give the reader a fun ride where the stakes are life and death and very high for the country. The details given by Lynds feel just right and we are not weighted down with a LeCarre or Clancy level of detail.

Bottom line: Good stuff. I always enjoy reading Gayle Lynds.

-Joe Sherry

In the brief prologue, Gayle Lynds recounts a 1985 Berlin prisoner exchange which occurred during the height of the Cold War. This incident is utilized to introduce her readers to CIA operative Jay Tice, his boss Palmer Westwood, the terrorist Faisal al- Hadi and an East German Stasi officer, Raina Manhardt. As readers of the genre will undoubtedly suspect, that incident and the traitorous act which turned that carefully orchestrated exchange into an apparent CIA fiasco will have undoubtedly caused the lives of those involved to become linked inextricably in ways that none of them could have foreseen at that moment.

As the introductory quotation to Part One then makes clear, this is a story that will involve the deception inherent in the life of intelligence operatives and double agents, and the knife's edge on which they walk. (As an aside, these well chosen introductory quotations are an incredibly nice flourish which are indicative of the quality of Lynd's work. My favorite was the very apt summary of one aspect of this story attributed to former the CIA Director Robert Gates - "When an intelligence officer smells flowers, he looks around for a coffin".) And what other author could have so interesting woven into her narrative the deep cover operative identified only as Moses, who in an incredible passage compares himself to the Biblical MOSES who he describes as THE FIRST SPYMASTER.

The story immediately shifts twenty years later to the death of a young German in an apparent skiing accident in the Alps; however, the narrative description makes it clear to the reader that something far more sinister was involved. We next learn that two days later Jay Tice has escaped from the Allenwood Federal Correctional facility, where he had been incarcerated to serve a life sentence as a traitor to his country in a scandal that rocked the CIA. We then immediately jump to Langley, VA., where Elaine Cunningham, a very skilled CIA "hunter" is about to submit her resignation due to the fact that she has become increasingly frustrated by her prolonged absence from the field as a result of her superiors' concern for her emotional stability following a field incident involving her husband's death. Suddenly, Elaine's availability means that she is handed the assignment of tracking down and arranging for the capture of Jay Tice before his escape becomes publicly known.

The action in the first sixty pages is very fragmentary and disjointed as the various characters are introduced and the threads of the storyline are only revealed in piecemeal fashion. However, by chapter eight there is more continuity of action, the storylines begin to coalesce and it becomes very difficult to put the book down. It is impossible for a review such as this to do the story justice while remaining of reasonable length and without including spoilers. Thus, I will only summarize the story by saying that the complexity of the plot combines with wonderful character development to keep readers as off balance as Jay Tice and Elaine Cunningham. Soon, we become aware that this is much more than the story of a master hunter with THE LAST SPYMASTER as her quarry, but rather a story of duplicity and conspiracy which may alter the balance of power between the NATO allies and the world's most dedicated terrorists. You can not assume that anything is what it appears, and it very quickly becomes clear why the survivors who do not end up in the coffins described by Gates will be those who most successfully implement the mantra of Jay Tice to "always have a good backup plan". To succeed in this world of covert operatives, you must not only be smart and clever, you must be tough, insightful and resourceful as well.

I first became aware of the author when she collaborated with Robert Ludlum on several of the early novels in the Covert One series; those books were easy reads and great fun, but to describe her recent novels as Ludlumesque does not do her justice. The plots are as complex as Ludlum's and the stories as gripping, but while her books also celebrate the overmatched protagonist (or small group of individuals) battling overwhelming odds, they are superior to Ludlum's in two respects. First, in keeping with the evolution of the genre, they include many more intimate details of spycraft and technology. Second, the character development is wonderfully managed and an integral aspect of the stories. Thus, with the caveat that the story's complexity requires the patience of the reader as the backdrop is gradually provided, I unreservedly recommend this novel. I enjoyed the characters, thought that the plot was first rate, and was swept along by the action. And the surprises and uncertainty continued right to the incredible flurry of activity surrounding the final plot twist at the conclusion of the story. You can't skim this novel, the details are crucial.

I also highly recommend Lynd's novel MASQUERADE (review 3/4/2004) and the sequel THE COIL (review 4/16/2004). I enjoyed these two novels immensely, and believe that they combine with this current work to place her among the top tier of today's writers of espionage thrillers. I would also recommend that fans of the genre visit the website of the organization which she has helped found, the International Thriller Writers, and consider attending their first thrillerfest if you are interested in meeting many of your favorite authors and learning about their craft.

Finally, I would note the similarity of this plot in many respects to the plot of the latest posthumous Ludlum novel (author unidentified), THE AMBLER WARNING (review 12/1/05). While not the quality of this book, I believe that fans of the genre will find it quite enjoyable. It had several clever plot twists and thought provoking elements; interestingly, a central element of the storyline was that the main character was also a former clandestine operative who also managed to escape from federal custody in the opening chapter as did Jay Tice; and, as in the case of Jay Tice, very little of what appears to be the truth can be taken at face value.

DISCLAIMER: This review is written based on an ARC (Advance Review Copy) that I received from the author. She had originally contacted me to offer me an ARC of THE COIL based on my review of previous thriller fiction including THE ALTMAN CODE (which she coauthored with Robert Ludlum). While I do not believe that my email correspondence with her and my receipt of this complimentary volume has compromised the independence of my opinions or influenced my rating, I have chosen to include this fact in the interest of full disclosure. In addition, the ARC did include some annoying grammatical mistakes and spelling errors, but I did not deduct for these in assigning my rating in the belief that they would be discovered and corrected during the editing process.

Tucker Andersen

It almost seems like you have been in on the adventure with all of the characters that are part of this masterfully-crafted espionage thriller by the time you finish reading it. The story hooks you right from the beginning - with a riveting prologue - and holds your complete attention right down to the last page. It's an intriguing, complex thriller that allows you to get inside the minds and emotions of each of the major players.

American spymaster Jay Tice, who has been incarcerated for collaborating with enemies, suddenly vanishes from his prison cell seemingly without a trace or trail. The CIA begins frantically searching for him - enter next major character Elaine Cunningham, the CIA employee assigned to track and locate him. With his knowledge of espionage, his contacts throughout the world, and his inherent abilities for stealth and survival, reining him in is no simple chore.

Adding to the daunting task of spy-chasing is an impending collaborative scheme that directly threatens the safety and security of the U.S. - and the world - that becomes entwined with and contingent on finding Jay Tice. As you become privy to the thoughts and actions of Jay, Elaine, and a handful of other prominent characters in the story, you begin to understand and see that who you thought was your ally and who is your enemy may depend on what you need for that moment.

You will get some glimpses of international underhanded dealings involving futuristic tools and equipment for warfare and espionage, and be introduced to various characters involved in these activities. Ultimately though, the character of Jay Tice is the focal point and most fascinating part of the story.

What is particularly effective in this book is how you are drawn into the thinking by and among the characters; it feels like you are actually experiencing what is going on and part of the action. It's fast-paced but in a thoughtful way - the author has skillfully made the dramatics and action very meaningful to the reader - there are absolutely no extraneous story lines or text. You get a sense of connection that you may not want to break with the characters she created and shared with you.

I would give this one six stars if I could.

I am at page 109 and I know I won't be sleeping tonight. Before I plunge into Chapter 14 I felt I owed it to you to come here and write a rave review in case you were considering buying this book. Do so. Gayle Lynds is a master story teller and an exceptional writer. In The Last Spymaster she is at the top of her game, and that is very high indeed.

As I said in the title line, grab a first edition while you can. This book is certain to become, as predicted by Lee Child, author of One Shot, "an instant classic." It is always a thrill to find a good book, a good read. It is rare to find a great one, and The Last Spymaster is beyond great.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my reading and find out what happens next! I can't believe how much this author has packed into 109 pages. Amazing. You get the point. Buy, borrow, beg, or --- well, don't steal --- but read this book.

Sheldon Bowles