The Defector, by Daniel Silva

 Gabriel Allon, the art restorer who sometimes moonlights as an Israeli spy, is working in warm, sunny Italy on a restoration and enjoying a delayed honeymoon with his new wife, Chiara.  Gabriel couldn’t be happier and he is doing what he loves most.  His relaxed time, however, will be brief.  Six months ago, Gabriel managed to thwart a ruthless and very wealthy Russian arms merchant, Ivan Kharkov.  In the process, Kharkov’s wife and children managed to escape his clutches and went into hiding in the USA.  Kharkov is now out for revenge and he has managed to kidnap Chiara and a former Russian spy who helped Gabriel bring Karkhov down.  Kharkov has a simple trade in mind for Gabriel—Chiara returned safely in exchange for his wife and children.  For Gabriel, who has already lost one wife and child to his spy work, getting Chiara back unharmed will be the challenge of his life.  This was an exciting page turner and I loved the action jumping all over Europe and America.  Well done. 

Rules of Vengeance, by Christopher Reich

 This is a sequel to Reich’s earlier book, Rules of Deception, which introduced the characters of Jonathan and Emma Ransom. Jonathan is a physician working with Doctors Without Borders and his wife Emma is…   Well, she is a definite mystery. In the previous novel, Jonathan and Emma worked together to stop a plot to shoot down an EL AL passenger plane—and Jonathan learned that Emma was leading a secret life as an agent for a deeply covert US government agency called Division.  As the new novel opens, it’s six months later and Emma has been classified as a rogue agent and targeted to be eliminated.  She is constantly on the run and Jonathan is trying to figure out a way for them to safely be together. While Jonathan and Emma are in London, a massive car bomb explodes and Emma is seen in the vicinity—and becomes the prime suspect. Jonathan is believed to be her accomplice and suddenly he finds himself also on the run from the police—while trying to figure out what Emma is up to.  This was a terrific follow-up to the previous novel and an exciting international thriller.

Even Money, by Dick Francis and Felix Francis

 Thirtysomething Ned Talbot, an Englishman,  hasn’t had that easy of a life.  His parents were killed in an auto accident when he was an infant and he was raised by his grandparents. His grandfather was a horseracing bookie and Ned has followed in his footsteps, running an independent bookmaking stand that is being squeezed by the big commercial outfits. Ned is married but his wife, Sophie, has had mental problems for most of their marriage and has been in and out of institutions. While Ned is working the Royal Ascot horserace, an older man confronts Ned and tells him he is his father, Peter Talbot.  Ned’s life is thrown into turmoil but before he can really question or get to know his long-lost father, Peter is murdered while they are leaving the racetrack.  Believing his whole life that his parents were dead, Ned must now discover what happened all those years ago—and why someone would want to kill his father now.  Dick Francis, a former jockey, usually writes with horseracing involved in some way and this novel was interesting with the perspective of a bookie.  Nicely entertaining. 

Get Real, by Donald E. Westlake

 For those unfamiliar with the Dortmunder series, John Dortmunder is a likable mostly non-violent New York City thief.  With his crew of four fellow crooks, John has managed to steal his way into a fairly comfortable living for himself and his long-suffering wife, May.  John has been looking around for their next job when Stan, the driver of the crew, comes to him with a proposition.  Doug Fairkeep, an executive at Get Real Productions, wants to do a reality television show about real crooks planning and executing a real robbery.  Would John be interested?  Well, practical, careful  John initially wants to run the other way but the proposed pay is too good to turn down—and their faces will be obscured on camera—so he decides to get on board with the crew and see how things go.  The tricky part is coming up with an actual robbery—and getting away with the crime.  After all, America will be watching the whole thing unfold on television.  But, John has some ideas on how to handle that.  This has been a fun, humorous series and this latest is an enjoyable addition.  Sadly, Mr. Westlake has died and this is the final book in the series. 

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