THE KINGFISHER'S CALL

In this scrappy, hard-working tale of espionage, a former navy SEAL leads a daring rescue mission into China to save a woman who has worked as a U.S. spy for decades. Tuck Nyland's assignment has a romantic angle, too. The woman he is to "extract," Bao Qing, is the lover-in-exile of CIA division chief Jon Cross, the agency's China expert. Cross wants Qing out of the country as soon as possible because he knows a dissident Chinese military general is about to stage a coup attempt and the country could erupt into civil war. Cross believes that the rough-and-ready Nyland, kicked out of the SEALS for his violent temper during the Gulf War, is the sole person tough enough to sneak his way into China and find Qing. Nyland, however, is not the only one who wants to find her. So does the U.S. secretary of defense, Charles Blanchard, whose treasonous behavior during the Vietnam War will come to light if Qing makes it out of China. Also on the hunt is ruthless Chinese Gen. Xing Wanpo, whose plan to take over the country would be jeopardized if Qing defects. Given what he's up against, Nyland finds this mission—through the jungles of Burma and the mountains and rivers of south China—to be the most challenging of his life. Reed, in his first outing since his 1995 debut (Thirteen Mountain), spices his fast-paced, violent plot with plenty of heroics and colorful scenery. Assigned to military intelligence during the Vietnam War, he puts his background to good use. An unnecessary romantic sideline involving Nyland and a female CIA agent, complete with wincingly bad dialogue, drags down the action occasionally, but not fatally. Though often straining credibility, this rescue mission ends with a well-deserved victory yell. Agent, Nancy Love, of the Nancy Love Literary Agency.(Apr.)