Foxcatcher

Charlie Brewer, U.S. agent working against illegal arms traders, goes to jail after being framed on an illegal gun rap. Bobby McCall, Brewer's boss, learns that Iranian super-terrorist Attashah is trying to buy the sophisticated equipment that can reactivate the Shah's old, U.S.-built surveillance system, which could blow up the Middle East. McCall decides to teach arms dealers a lesson: he will have three of their number killed on the same day in different places. Meanwhile, Brewer is paroled as mysteriously as he had been imprisoned, and is suborned by Attashah into procuring the gear the Iranians want. The action ranges across America, Europe, the Middle East and the Caribbean, as Brewer and McCall head on a collision course. The pace is smoothly breakneck, the plot wonderfully intricate and clear, the characters richly diverse. The pleasure of this satisfying thriller is increased by its effective humor and some delicious twists at the end. Hallahan wrote Catch Me: Kill Me (an Edgar winner), The Trade, etc. March 19