Winter of the Wolves

Tom Croft, the hero of this absorbing, fast-paced thriller, has quit the top-secret, CIA-backed organization known as the Exchange. Disgusted with his own soiled hands, he retires to lead a very private life in upstate New York. Trouble is, the Exchange doesn't want to let him go. Even more to the point, they want him to kill his old friend, former agent Gray Wolf, who has gone freelance. Croft flatly refuses but is told he has little choice: Gray Wolf already assumes he has taken the job and will be coming for him first. Croft goes on the run, hoping to find Gray Wolf and convince him that he is no longer a ``player.'' He's accompanied by his new lover, whom he at first suspected of being an agent in the employ of either the Exchange or Gray Wolf himself but whose background has stood up to his thorough investigation. As violence stalks their path, the woman, Meredith Kellerman, begins to fall apart under the pressure of life underground, even as their love for each other grows stronger. Many readers will be expecting the plot twist near the end, but Frey's ( Came a Dead Cat ) finale delivers a powerful jolt. Mystery Guild alternate. (June)