Carmon's fictional alter ego in his somewhat disappointing second Dan Gordon thriller (after 2005's Triple Identity
) is also an Israeli-born attorney working for the U.S. Department of Justice; Gordon is pursuing a money laundering and terror financing ring linked to the Russian mafia. A chance sighting of a missing person poster in New York City leads him to crack a code and suspect that Islamic terrorists are targeting the U.S. with a lethal blend of E. coli
and hemorrhagic fever. Carmon's real-world experience with legal intelligence gathering lends authenticity to many details, but the author falters with some unlikely plotting. For an experienced ex-Mossad agent, Gordon makes a number of amateurish mistakes (e.g., revealing top-secret information to a sexy but untrustworthy federal agent) that imperil his life and mission. Still, those who aren't sticklers should enjoy the ride. (July)
