The Blood of Patriots and Traitors

November 28, 2022
At the start of Scott’s solid sequel to 2020’s The President’s Dossier, former CIA agent Max Geller’s early retirement is interrupted by former agency colleagues, whose approach on an Australian beach turns into a fight when angry members of Russia’s security services try to interrupt the CIA’s bid to press the ex-spy back into service. Strong-armed by his former boss, who threatens to send his girlfriend on the mission instead, Geller agrees to get a high-value defector out of Moscow with battle plans for a Russian reconquest of its former Baltic republics. Geller’s high-profile criminal status—he’s still on wanted posters in Russia from his previous mission there—triggers a bid for vengeance by FSB officer Col. Konstantine Zabluda, who failed to stop Geller’s earlier escape. A high-octane pursuit across Russia and into Estonia ends in an exciting rapid-fire shoot-out scene, but trouble lies ahead as information from the defector raises questions about the ability of the United States to protect its NATO allies. Daniel Silva fans should check out this timely political thriller.

October 28, 2022

In this follow-up to The President's Dossier, CIA agent Max Geller gets blackmailed into returning to Russia to learn the truth about a defector. He's a dead man if he crosses the border, but he has no choice, thanks to his former boss using his girlfriend, Vanessa, as bait. Once the mission is in play, it doesn't go as planned, and he's spotted in Moscow, then pursued by his old enemy, FSB Colonel Zabluda. Now Max's main goal is to get out alive. For some reason, the writing never quite clicks, so the narrative gets bogged down. The exciting parts don't arrive until the novel's second half, and the experience feels like two separate stories shoved together. VERDICT Readers who enjoyed the first novel will want to see how Geller's life and career play out, but there is not much here for newcomers. What could be a classic in the spy genre, complete with a timely idea, doesn't live up to its initial promise.--Jeff Ayers

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 15, 2024
A former CIA operative enjoying a well-deserved respite is drawn back into the treacherous world of espionage in Scott's thriller. This second installment in the Max Geller series begins in January 2020: Max has returned to Russia, risking his life to save Vanessa, the woman he loves, when Rodney, his former CIA boss, uses her as a pawn to manipulate Max into smuggling out a potential defector with critical information vital to U.S. national security. Max, a wanted man after his exploits during his previous incursion into Russia, is hunted by the Russian authorities, and whether the defector truly exists is uncertain--could he be a lure to draw Max into the clutches of his archnemesis, FSB Lieut. Col. Konstantine Zabluda? After Max takes the mission to save Vanessa, he's thrown back into a game of cat and mouse in which his survival and the very fate of the world hang in the balance. Scott's spy thriller is a sequel to The President's Dossier (2020), Max's previous adventure, but it can be read as a stand-alone story. The plot-driven novel is propelled by a web of intrigue that spans continents, with plenty of twists and turns (who, exactly, is Max's true enemy?). The tension grows palpable as Max navigates a labyrinthine world of defectors, blackmailers, and adversaries both within Russia and the United States; the narrative provides a roller-coaster ride of action sequences and narrow evasions ("Spying is a game of using people. Nobody escapes, not even the puppet masters"). Less enthralling is the somewhat superficial romance subplot. The relationship between Max and Vanessa, while presumably central to the storyline, is not developed sufficiently for readers to understand Max's motivations. Their connection, though pivotal in guiding Max's decisions, lacks depth and emotional resonance. The novel's strength lies in its excellent pacing and intricate construction of shadowy geopolitical machinations--a strength that ultimately proves to be rather topical. A plot-driven thriller that misses deeper emotional nuances but hits the sweet spot of global intrigue.

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