Kill Chain

At the start of Martell’s exhilarating fourth novel featuring former terrorist Pascual Rose (after 2001’s Gitana), two uninvited guests, who call themselves Felix and Lina, arrive at Pascual’s home in the small Catalonian town where he has been living under a false name with his family for 20 years. Felix and Lina offer Pascual, who gets by as a freelance translator, a million euros to pose as a rich businessman with money to transfer. Since the pair threaten to kill Pascual’s wife and son unless he cooperates, he agrees to the terms. Pascual travels to various places in Europe, where he connects with the mysterious Artemisa Pereda, who unveils an international web of deceit and corruption possibly involving multiple nations. Pascual must later place his faith in the hands of cybersecurity technician Fernando Salera to help navigate a world in which no phone, credit card, or camera is safe from surveillance and hacking. Some convoluted plotlines resolve as Pascual and his accomplices head through treacherous waters toward the satisfying ending. Readers will hope they won’t have to wait another 19 years for Pascual’s next adventure. [em]Agent: Lukas Ortiz, Philip G. Spitzer Literary. (Oct.) [/em]