Confessor - Hardcover

Gardner, John E.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 059301913X ISBN 13: 9780593019139

Publisher: Otto Penzler Books, 1995

Synopsis

Retired British Secret Agent Herbie Kruger, out of shape and out of form, pulls himself together to delve into the circumstances of the death of his former colleague Gus Keene.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

In this second volume in Gardner's Last Kruger trilogy, Big Herbie Kruger?hero of an earlier trilogy?is called out of retirement to investigate the car-bomb assassination of Gus Keene, one of the most successful inquisitors ("confessors") ever to serve Her Majesty's spies. Herbie's old ties to Keene put his life in jeopardy as he uncovers sinister terrorists bombing European and American sites as a prelude to a scheme known only as "Magic Lightning." Herbie also learns that Keene had a second life as a world-class magician, and that he kept some of his spycraft very secret indeed; it's even possible that the master illusionist is still alive. Though Gardner provides the requisite treacheries and betrayals, a slow start and the often murky explanations of characters' complex relationships may deter some readers. In addition, while Kruger, with his mangled vocabulary and bulldoggedness, is affectionately drawn, supporting players rarely come to life. Still, readers who persevere will be rewarded when the plot's many dark secrets are finally revealed?appropriately enough, at a magician's conference in a besieged Washington, D.C. Author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

In intelligence jargon, a "confessor" is a specialist in breaking down suspected spies, informants, and defectors through relentless interrogation. Gus Keene was one of the best of the confessors in the business until terrorists blew up his car on a quiet rural road in the middle of the night. Gus' old friend Herbie Kruger has been called back from the alcoholic haze of his retirement to try to find out who killed Gus and why. Meanwhile, teams of Iraqi terrorists are making life hell in New York, Washington, London, and Paris. Using Gus' unfinished memoirs, Herbie discovers a connection between the Iraqis and a tiny splinter group of the IRA, a group Gus had nearly destroyed by using a clever bit of legerdemain to cover up a botched police raid. Gardner has an established audience, so his latest is certain to be popular, but like much of his work, it exhibits both the strengths and the weaknesses of the espionage novel at its lowest common denominator: plenty of suspense; an overabundance of gore and mayhem; and the demotion of all women characters to the roles of either sex toys or victims. Buy as demand dictates. George Needham

About this edition

• Publisher: Otto Penzler Books
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 059301913X
• ISBN 13: 9780593019139
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 489