Lion's Run

Sir Kenneth Aubrey, director-general of British Intelligence, is about to wind up the crowning achievement of his careersecuring the defection of a deputy chairman of the KGB. It turns out, however, that the deputy chairman has been planning to wind up his own by setting up Aubrey to look like a Russian mole in the very organization he heads. Aubrey is ingeniously framed, and everyone from whom he might expect support deserts him, with the exception of his bodyguard, Patrick Hyde, and a close friend, Paul Massinger. Hyde was witness to Aubrey's betrayal, but he must first fend off KGB assassins before he can help his boss, while Massinger must contend with the fact that his loyalty to Aubrey is in conflict with his wife's (justified) belief that Aubrey was responsible for her father's murder years before. This is Thomas's (Firefox Down!) most ambitious novel to date, and it succeeds on almost every count as an emotionally fraught tale of deception and intrigue on the top rungs of the international espionage ladder. The author is occasionally too facile in conveying his characters' moments of insight, but the overall maturity of this book, particularly in the closing chapters, compensates for that shortcoming. Major ad/promo. December