Bannerman's Ghosts - Hardcover

Maxim, John R.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 006000584X ISBN 13: 9780060005849

Publisher: WilliamMr, 2003

Synopsis

The chillingly prescient subject of New York Times bestselling author John R. Maxim's remarkable new thriller -- which anticipates the development of unstoppable viral weapons -- is reassuring in at least one regard: It has threatened and angered Paul Bannerman.

The story begins not in Westport, Connecticut, where Bannerman and a group of his deadliest operatives have been trying to live otherwise normal lives, but in a fortified estate outside Washington, D.C., where the billionaire sociopath Artemus Bourne has taken delivery of a package. It was supposed to contain samples of horrific bio-weapons that one of his offshore firms created. Instead, the package held three severed heads. One belonged to the scientist who'd developed those weapons. The other two belonged to men who'd tested the virus on humans.

Bourne knows who sent him the three heads and why; it is an act of vengeance by a man long thought dead. He is out of Bourne's reach, but Bourne knows that man's one weakness -- a woman who is the great love of his life. If Bourne can find her, his problem might be nipped in the bud.

But Bourne's solution puts him at odds with Paul Bannerman, himself a friend of this woman. And Bannerman has a number of "ghosts" of his own, so-called because they, too, are thought to be dead and beyond the reach of the living. But none of them are beyond the reach of Artemus Bourne's deadly viral weapons. If Bannerman does not agree to stand down, anything in Westport that breathes will die.

This new Bannerman adventure, long awaited and much requested, is a heart-stopping tale ripped from today's headlines. It is also a tale of loyalty, of honor, and of a love that transcends life and death.

About this title

About the Author

John R. Maxim is the author of the critically acclaimed thrillers Mosaic, Haven, and The Shadow Box and other highly praised novels, including Time Out of Mind, Abel Baker Charley, and the best selling Bannerman series. He makes his home in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Reviews

Travelers to Westport, Conn., should keep an eye open for unusual characters. That distinguished old gent who runs an antique shop? He's an ex-KGB colonel. That red-haired woman whose bookstore sells a lot of Harry Potters? She's a professional killer who likes to blow up trucks and planes. And the owners of a popular restaurant, a quaint bed-and-breakfast, a home security firm? They're all former assassins for the U.S. government, possessed of various violent skills that they're ready to exercise once again if their boss, Paul Bannerman-who runs a travel agency on the Boston Post Road-gives the word. We encounter them all again as thriller veteran Maxim takes up his successful series where Bannerman's Promise left off. Artemus Bourne, who puts the "arch" in "arch villain," is straight out of Ian Fleming-a fabulously wealthy and powerful smuggler, currently involved in the dirty African diamond business, who can't seem to hire good help. Bourne wants revenge on an Angolan rebel, Alameo, who messily beheaded three of Bourne's aides. Bourne knows that Alameo is really a former East German (and Bannerman colleague) named Martin Kessler, long believed to be dead. To trap Kessler, Bourne needs Kessler's lover, Elizabeth Stride, a legendary assassin called the Black Angel. Stride is also supposed to be dead, but in fact she's another of Bannerman's "ghosts" in retirement in Westport-and Bannerman may have to marshal some of his own deadly skills to protect her. The entertaining-if somewhat ludicrous-plot involves a good deal of hokum, blarney and old-fashioned excitement. Maxim's fans are in for more fun.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In this new installment to the Bannerman series, psychotic billionaire Artemus Bourne gets more than he bargained for when he finds himself on the wrong side of some "retired" government operatives. Bourne's global business empire encompasses diamonds, arms smuggling, and the manufacture of "weapons grade" viral agents. But an Angolan rebel leader by the name of Alameo, former East German agent Martin Kessler, has brought all of Bourne's nefarious schemes to a halt by holding his bioweapon lab hostage. In a desperate effort, Bourne decides to find and take hostage Kessler's ex-lover, Elizabeth Stride. All former assassin Stride wants is some peace and quiet, but when her tranquil Hilton Head neighborhood is invaded by Bourne's heavy-handed thugs, she seeks the assistance of old friend Paul Bannerman and his associates. Death, destruction, and general mayhem soon follow in their wake as they set out to bring Bourne to justice. With a convoluted plot reminiscent of Robert Ludlum (before he began writing from beyond the grave), this tightly wound thriller will appeal to both espionage and general suspense readers. Kaite Mediatore
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: WilliamMr
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 006000584X
• ISBN 13: 9780060005849
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 390