Last Instructions

Hezroni builds on the characters and setup of 2017’s Three Envelopes in this nail-biter centered on the desperate efforts of an ultrasecret Israeli intelligence group, known simply as the Organization, to stop a sociopathic rogue operative. Many years earlier, agent 10483 was subjected to sophisticated rewiring of his brain that directed him to kill himself after completing a series of hits. The suicidal programming did lead 10483 to jump in front of a bus in 2006, but he survived, and after regaining consciousness almost a decade later, he embarks on an elaborate campaign of vengeance, which includes smuggling a nuclear weapon into the U.S. and targeting CIA headquarters in Virginia. Hezroni, who has a background in military intelligence, makes the larger-than-life plot feel plausible and again excels in portraying the conscienceless 10483, who’s capable of relishing a breakfast of croissants and jam while he burns an Organization member alive. Thriller fans will be enthralled as well as disturbed. Agent: Rena Rosner, Deborah Harris Agency. (May)