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Peter Case is just beginning to enjoy life on Vancouver Island and the burgeoning success of Left Coast Salvage when his parents are killed by a natural gas explosion. He's skeptical of the circumstances, but authorities conclude it was an unfortunate accident. Then Case's friends start turning up dead at an astonishing speed in a series of subsequent unfortunate accidents. Case suspects these so-called accidents are targeted attacks. No one believes him.
Despite the assistance Case and his best friend Hal provided the CIA during their previous escapades, none of the agents can be reached. They turn to their contacts in CSIS and MI6 for help, only to hear there is zero evidence the accidents are linked and no resources available to assist them. When Hal's brother is killed in yet another accident, Case and Hal take matters into their own hands. Case doesn't know if he's just being paranoid or if they're actually being targeted. But he's going to find out. |
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editorial Review
In Eshleman's 1980s-set novel, the third in his Peter Case trilogy, Case and sidekick Hal McDonald reluctantly abandon their marine salvage business on Vancouver Island to investigate a series of suspicious deaths.
These two strapping leads spend the first third of the novel not fighting bad guys but doing salvage jobs and puzzling out life over steaks and drinks. Then suddenly come the deaths of Case's parents, the random stabbing of one of his friends, and an accident that kills Hal's brother. To help determine who, if anyone, is orchestrating the deaths of their friends and family, the duo call in their friends, including the British MI6 agent Danita, who fancies the bearish Hal, and members of the CIA, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
We don't need to see the skills the intelligence agencies value in Case - yet. He can fight his way out of any trouble, as he demonstrates by taking down two unruly men in a bar. Case, Hal, and Dani take Case and Hal's salvage boat, the Osprey, to Barkley Sound on a "fishing expedition" to catch the one that got away, a drug trafficker named Constantine whose henchman Edge may be behind the worrisome string of deaths.
Eshleman writes about diving, swimming, and boating in a captivating way. In one scene, the Osprey is gently hand-propelled by fishermen through a tight channel between two long rows of trawlers. The conceit of countless helping hands moving the Osprey into open water echoes the way our hero is brought to his final confrontation by being moved, hand by hand, by his friends and those who care about him until he can finally use those tools of which even the CIA is envious. The eventual action scenes are equally well composed, adding up to a tale that begins slowly and catches fire.
A quiet revenge story that morphs into a high-impact tale.
Kirkus Reviews
These two strapping leads spend the first third of the novel not fighting bad guys but doing salvage jobs and puzzling out life over steaks and drinks. Then suddenly come the deaths of Case's parents, the random stabbing of one of his friends, and an accident that kills Hal's brother. To help determine who, if anyone, is orchestrating the deaths of their friends and family, the duo call in their friends, including the British MI6 agent Danita, who fancies the bearish Hal, and members of the CIA, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
We don't need to see the skills the intelligence agencies value in Case - yet. He can fight his way out of any trouble, as he demonstrates by taking down two unruly men in a bar. Case, Hal, and Dani take Case and Hal's salvage boat, the Osprey, to Barkley Sound on a "fishing expedition" to catch the one that got away, a drug trafficker named Constantine whose henchman Edge may be behind the worrisome string of deaths.
Eshleman writes about diving, swimming, and boating in a captivating way. In one scene, the Osprey is gently hand-propelled by fishermen through a tight channel between two long rows of trawlers. The conceit of countless helping hands moving the Osprey into open water echoes the way our hero is brought to his final confrontation by being moved, hand by hand, by his friends and those who care about him until he can finally use those tools of which even the CIA is envious. The eventual action scenes are equally well composed, adding up to a tale that begins slowly and catches fire.
A quiet revenge story that morphs into a high-impact tale.
Kirkus Reviews
