Robert Ludlum's The Janus Reprisal

Freveletti is the sixth author to make use of Ludlum's Covert-One concept and she provides the kind of high-octane action that Ludlum fans have come to expect. She wastes no time plunging the reader into the middle of things, opening with series lead Lieutenant Colonel Jon Smith%E2%80%94an Army doctor who's an expert on infectious diseases and an operative for Covert-One, "one of the deepest black operations in the US intelligence community"%E2%80%94waking up at gunpoint. Smith is in The Hague for a meeting of the World Health Organization when terrorists attack his hotel. Unsurprisingly, Smith manages to survive, despite being taken off-guard, and when the dust settles, begins to pursue why he, along with two others, were specifically targeted by the gunmen. The motive is probably connected with the escape of Oman Dattar, a Pakistani charged with crimes against humanity, from the custody of the International Criminal Court. The storyline isn't as original as in Kyle Mills' contribution to the series (2011's The Ares Decision), but the quality of writing elevates it above many similar books. Agent: Barbara Poelle, Irene Goodman Literary Agency. (Sept.)