cover image Inside Out

Inside Out

Barry Eisler, Ballantine, $25 (368p) ISBN 978-0-345-50510-1

Eisler’s rock-solid sequel to Fault Line finds black ops spy/assassin Ben Treven dealing with anger management problems that have landed him in a grim Filipino jail. To the rescue is his old boss, Col. Scott “Hort” Horton, chief of Ben’s secret unit, “the absurdly blandly named Intelligence Support Activity.” Hort tried to have Ben killed in the last book, but no matter—in exchange for his release, Ben must hunt down fellow agent Daniel Larison, a rogue who’s demanding $100 million worth of uncut diamonds in exchange for 92 secret tapes showing extreme torture, instigated and sanctioned by the office of the U.S. vice president. Caught in this rapidly escalating disaster are various high-level government officials, all of whom are willing to do whatever it takes to keep the tapes from being revealed. The open ending promises to unite Ben with Eisler’s other series hero, John Rain, a matchup that should prove to be thriller gold for anxiously awaiting readers. 10-city author tour. (July)