Book 4: James Becker Series
By John L. Betcher
I've been a fan from the start of this series--loved every one of them...but...
His latest is exceptionally exciting and is my favorite so far!
Oh sure, Beck is activity involved as well and, particularly, at the end when it's important. But Beth has been called back into active CIA service as a consultant and must travel to Egypt in order to complete this assignment.
Beth had been stationed in Egypt many years ago, but because of the woman that she was, one young Egyptian girl had remembered her. Now she had discovered important information and would talk to nobody but Beth, whose name for the CIA was Elizabeth Weston
Back home, James has gotten involved with the upcoming visit of a government official, who has not yet been identified. The banter between Gunner, Bull and Beck is characteristically, short, blunt, sarcastic...and funny...
And, although there was an excellent plan drawn up for security by Gunner, the Chief Deputy Sheriff, with their help, when the Senator actually arrived, spoke and then in leaving, decided to break the plan--well, he was dead soon thereafter. Killed by a professional hit.
Too late to help, the message that the young girl, Rasha, was delivering to Elizabeth was that there were plans to kill a congressional member. But since it had already happened, a decision was made to not only try to capture the assassin, but to determine who was behind hiring him.
One of the things I enjoy most from John Betcher is his character development, especially of those in the government. So it wasn't surprising that it was Elizabeth's bosses that had changed plans for her project in the middle and she had been captured! Because everything that had happened evolved from a theft of plans for an airplane like no other--but nobody wanted to admit that the theft had actually occurred!
Let me just say that when Beck did not receive his normal check-in from Beth, there was nothing that would stop him from finding her...Whew! It was great to watch the action!
Beck was too involved with righting wrongs this time to deliver too many of his zingers, but I do enjoy the byplay between he and Gunner or Bull... What do I mean? Well, check out my reviews of the first three books and you'll learn more, but especially that Betcher uses a Robert B. Parker approach to much of his dialogue. Kudos to him for keeping that style of dialogue writing alive, but for also developing a set of characters who are so naturally prone to say the things they do, that we love them more each time we meet them...
And, just a personal note to the author...anybody who makes Bull smile like he did "once" in this novel should be considered as a prime character to move to Red Wing in the future...Here's one reader who'd like to see Bull smiling more often!
Much more action and thrills in this latest, spotlighting issues that occur often in the governmental offices around the world, but it's the characters that keep me coming back wanting more. Beck is something else! I tip my "bonnet" to him! Highly recommended for great humorous dialogue, political intrigue and so much more...
GABixlerReviews
Check out my Reviews for Series!
Plus 1...
http://gabixlerreviews-bookreadersheaven.blogspot.com/2010/05/review-james-becker-mystery-might-be.html
http://gabixlerreviews-bookreadersheaven.blogspot.com/2010/07/review-19th-element-sets-james-becker.html
http://gabixlerreviews-bookreadersheaven.blogspot.com/2011/02/review-one-mans-searchcould-also-be.html
(Not a James Becker Series book)
http://gabixlerreviews-bookreadersheaven.blogspot.com/2011/07/james-becker-series-includes-funny.html
Thanks for the review, Glenda.
ReplyDeleteBTW...you're not the only one who saw a possible Rasha/Bull connection. It didn't happen in this book. But you can't rule anything out with Bull!
Cheers!
John