The Italian Divide: A Craig Page Thriller

In Topol’s action-packed if simplistic fifth Craig Page thriller (after 2014’s The Argentine Triangle), the former CIA director, who has undergone plastic surgery and is now known as race car driver Enrico Marino, returns to the espionage world after a friend of his, Frederico Castiglione, CEO of the National Bank of Milan, is murdered in Biarritz. Meanwhile, Zhou Yun, the powerful and ambitious brother of the Chinese president, is seeking to establish a hold in Europe by surreptitiously acquiring effective control of some of Italy’s biggest banks. Zhou is quietly backing controversial Italian presidential candidate Roberto Parelli, who needs funds to keep his campaign alive. Page calls in favors from such important contacts as CIA director Betty Richards in his effort to expose Zhou’s nefarious schemes. He also adopts yet another identity, the head of a private equity fund, as part of a daring plan to beard Zhou in his heavily guarded residence in Switzerland. Readers who prefer subtlety should look elsewhere. Agent: Pam Ahearn, Ahearn Agency. (Mar.)