cover image The Disciple

The Disciple

Stephen Coonts, . . St. Martin's, $26.99 (368pp) ISBN 978-0-312-37283-5

Last seen together in bestseller Coonts's The Assassin (2008), Tommy Carmellini, a CIA operative, and Jake Grafton, the new CIA head of Middle Eastern Operations, try to stop the Iranian president, madman Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, from starting WWIII in this nail-biting near-future thriller. When they fail to do so, Tommy and Jake must attempt to knock out the conventional and nuclear missiles that Iran fires at targets throughout the Middle East. Coonts carefully builds his plot using a wide cast of characters, from insider Iranian spies to cutting-edge aircraft pilots and government officials both high and low. Hardly a page passes without nerve-stretching tension or flat-out action. One can only hope the U.S. president, the head of the CIA and the Israeli prime minister will have this book on their nightstands for easy reference in case fiction turns to reality, an all-too-real possibility as evidenced by recent headlines. 250,000 first printing. (Dec.)