The Whispering Dead

Mark’s dense sequel to 2019’s The Mausoleum opens in 1968, when Cordelia Hemlock, then a young, idealistic, but unsure recruit, is interviewed by SIS agent Walt Renwick for a position with MI6. Flash forward to 2016, the year journalist Paolo Fergus publishes an investigative piece on a 1983 conspiracy involving the death of a British intelligence agent given up to Guatemalan special forces in an effort “to avoid causing embarrassment to President Reagan” and to serve American and British interests in South America. This story prompts Cordelia to relate to Paulo events of 1982 that involve connecting the political stabilizing of Belize, a former British colony bordering Guatemala, with the controversial program to which Cordelia was assigned. Unbeknownst to her, she was marked by her superiors as “high risk” and “potentially subversive,” putting her, Walt, and the clandestine program at risk. Mack does a good job portraying the personal sacrifices public servants make, but at times the risks his characters are up against are unclear, especially as he requires the reader to connect many of the dots—both characters’ relationships and historical events—on their own. Espionage fans will have fun trying to separate fact from fiction. (Dec.)