The Damascus Threat

June 27, 2016
This fast-paced, action-packed first in a new thriller series from Rees—best known for The Fourth Assassin and three other crime novels featuring Palestinian sleuth Omar Yussef—introduces Dominic Verrazzano, a former Green Beret and current U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agent. When a doctor specializing in chemical weapons is murdered on the doorstep of the ICE Manhattan offices while trying to reach Verrazzano, the agent becomes entangled in a mystery surrounding a plot to unleash a chemical attack somewhere in New York City. The trail leads him to Syria, where he begins to understand the scale of the scheme—the attack is simply the opening move in a much larger conspiracy. But with time running out and assassins on his trail, can Verrazzano stay alive long enough to avert an unprecedented terrorist attack on U.S. soil? Rees writes well, but those who prefer fully dimensional characters and unpredictability in their thrillers will have to look elsewhere. Agent: Lisa Erbach Vance, Aaron M. Priest Literary Agency.

June 1, 2016
In a race against the clock, an American special agent crisscrosses New York and travels to Syria to prevent a devastating chemical attack.In Syria, the escape of a desperate man named Underwood is cut off by Lance, a sadistic thug. In Manhattan, Amy Weston is pursued by a hulking man in a hoodie. Though she reaches the office building that's her destination, she's brutally slain in an elevator. ICE Special Agent Dominic Verrazzano, Weston's intended contact, manages to track down the killer, who declares, "I got the four-ten," before jumping from a tall building to his death. Weston, a doctor specializing in chemical weapons, had recently been working in Syria. As Verrazzano seeks to identify the assassin in the hoodie and assemble the pieces of this puzzle, his movements are monitored by an ominous character known as The Janissary. Also in the mix is rugged Martin Chavez, who, after losing his legs in combat, gets recruited by his old pal Massie into the latter's private security firm. Chavez's caretaker and wife, Adela, does security for the U.N. Verrazzano's tangled trail leads to Daryl Underwood and to Quanah Jones, Verrazzano's old partner in a special assassin unit and the man who sent Weston to him. All roads lead to Syria for the climactic showdown.This series kickoff by the author of the Omar Yussef thrillers (The Fourth Assassin, 2010, etc.) keeps the action and the close calls coming and tucks colorful characters into unexpected corners. Crackerjack entertainment, even if it mostly feels familiar.

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