Recently a lot of books in the spy/ thriller genre have started to run together in my head, but this one is an exception. It was well-written and suspenseful, with several twists that actually did surprise me. There were some limitations to the book, however, which kept me from giving it a higher rating.
This is the story of Sam Capra, a CIA spook whose world gets turned upside down when he narrowly escapes as his office is bombed by a man who has also kidnapped his pregnant wife, Lucy. Sam is immediately considered suspect by the CIA since he is the only one who survives the bombing, and the story is off and running. He is desperate to find Lucy and their unborn child and has to rely on every tool in his arsenal to do so.
The book seemed to ebb and flow for me. There were sections of really rapid-fire, intensive excitement followed by some more tedious segments, and the narrative seemed to meander on for just a bit too long. In addition, there is some science in this book that borders on the ridiculous and really strained my ability to suspend disbelief. I did find the characters to be almost uniformly terrific, though I have to admit that I enjoyed Mila, a mysterious woman in whom Sam has met his match, more than Sam himself.
Probably one of the bigger annoyances to me upon completion of this book was the major unfinished story arc, which sets up the next book in the series. We already know what Sam's next mission will be, but it seemed gratuitous to leave that thread just dangling. I would've picked up the next book based on the strength of the characters, but the latest habit of series-writers to leave a book unfinished annoys me and knocked this book down a star.
Taken together with its myriad pros and cons, this book earned an average rating from me.