Reviews

Booth Stallings, a 60-year-old Washington expert on terrorism, is suddenly fired from his job and then offered half a million dollars to act as liaison between a Philippines guerilla leader and a shadowy group who want that leader retired to Hong Kong with a $5-million payoff. Not knowing whether he is working for private interests or the intelligence community, Stallings decides to enlist specialized help before leaving for Manila. His chosen allies are a group of con men who spend most of their time attempting to swindle the guerillas, the CIA, and each other in order to get their hands on the 5 million. This is a complex, and often confusing, novel with a lot of loose ends. Not up to Thomas's usual standard. John North, L.R.C., Ryerson Polytechnical Inst., Toronto