The Defector by Daniel Silva

The last Silva book that I read was not very good and I noted that I'd give him a change to redeem himself before I quit reading his works.  Well, he has done so in "The Defector."  Gabriel Allon is back in fine form to lead the action through Moscow, Italy and London in an attempt to find a former Russian spy who once saved his life.  The pace is fast and tense.  Good read.

Michael McGarrity 3 novels

      Tularosa, Mexican Hat and Serpent Gate are 3 novels set in New Mexico. "Mystery fans shouldn't miss Tularosa" is what Tony Hillerman says about Tularosa. And Hillerman certainly know something about the Southwest.  McGarrity's lead character is Kevin Kerney, a retired Santa Fe cop who was wounded on duty and forced to retire. But after 2 years on his remote ranch he is lured back into service to help his ex-partner who is also the father of Kerney's godson. Finding that godson, now a soldier, who disappeared from White Sands Missile Range take the reader on a great trek though mountains and valleys and into the back alleys near the Mexican border.
     In "Mexican Hat" we find Kevin Kerney spending a season as a forest ranger in the Gila Wilderness when a tourist is murdered. That leads to the discovery of a tangled, 60-year old feud between two brothers.  Kerney's life is put in danger as we learn about New Mexico's militia groups, cattlemen, poachers, land-grabbers and more.
     "Serpent's Gate" sends Kerney after a small town cop killer and a murderer of a woman at a millionaires's mansion.  The clues lead him to Mexico and people with powerful government connections that want Kerney out of the way. 
Since I love the descriptions of the Southwest states, these stories are very appealing.  Like Hillerman, McGarrity can describe the rough and dry desert and the lush green of the high mountains with fascinating detail.  His writing is crisp and all the parts of the formula are included -- desire, greed, dogged pursuit, risk and danger and a fair outcome in the end.  I hope there are more stories to come from McGarrity.

ROGUE ANGEL Destiny by Alex Archer

1431 Joan of Arc fate lay in the hands of Roux who misjudged the times and arrived too late to save her.   In present day France we find  Annja Creed, also a fearless woman on an insatiable quest.  She is trying to find the ancient beast LaBete thought to still roam the deep caverns of the mountains near Lozere. The beast is the least of her problems. She encounters human monsters more menacing than any giant beast.  One man and his toadies (the predictable sort) are relentless in pursuit of her every move.  It's the secretive order of monks who create the interest in this story.  Why are they living deep below ground in hostile rock caves, apparently quite willingly?  Then there's the mysterious old man who helps her escape from the mountain and talks as if he is 600 years old.  A strange bird ... but they hang out together quite nicely -- for a while.  Could he be the Roux of old who missed his appointment with Joan of Arc?  In Annja heading for a similar fate?  Could this be his chance to make amends?   Annja has all the muscle, brain and technical training of the greatest ninja and she has the opportunity to show it off throughout the story.  It's light, it's fun, it's silly, it is a pretty good book.  I think I'll read another one of Archer's stories.

"BORN TO RUN" and "LAST TO DIE" by James Grippando

Never heard of the author but I needed something to read and grabbed "Last to Die."  It was really good,  my kind of who-dunit. I like a character who lives throughout a series of stories and Jack Swyteck is the man.  His sidekick, Theo, becomes a pain in the neck, a bit too silly for me.  I'd like to just slap him and get on with the story.  But there's a lot of interplay between Jack and Theo in both of the books.  So I assume Theo is here to stay.  

The Long March by Sun Shuyun

The full title of the book is "The Long March, the True History of Communist China's Founding Myth." China's Communist history is glorified by the 8000 miles trek made by party members and the Red Army to avoid being overrun by Chang Kai-shek's nationalists in 1934.  Led by Mao Zedong, villagers were forced to join the march to the barren land in the north from which Mao developed himself into the tyrant that created the horrific Cultural Revolution.  On the 200,000 on the forced march, only 1 in 5 arrived. Most were starved, shot, deserted, and diseased.  Of those that did survive, many lived in deprivation throughout the rest of their lives.
The author interviewed many of the aged survivors and was able to peel away the "glamour and glory" that became enshrined in the Chinese minds. And while many suffered terribly during the march, they maintained that the suffering was worth the effort.  The author reveals the nationalism that is deep in the psyche of many who lived through the 1930s and '40.  An excellent read.