NERVE ATTACK

In Manning’s sequel to Trojan Horse (2020), a former American intelligence agent returns to the field to thwart a chemical attack in the U.S.

When a nerve agent is smuggled into Vermont, U.S. agencies know it originated in Russia. The sole person with intel on the substance is Dmitri Lemonsky, who’s currently locked in a federal prison. But he will only talk to his childhood best friend, Kolya Petrov. Kolya once worked for the Executive Covert Agency, which now asks for his help. This ultimately takes Kolya, a now-released Dmitri, and ECA agents across the ocean to Russia, where they scour the country to identify the source of the nerve agent. They surmise unknown terrorists are planning a U.S. attack, and Russian President Yuri Bykovsky could be the guilty party. Kolya, meanwhile, struggles to trust Dmitri, who Kolya suspects sent armed men after his fiancee in the States mere days ago. Though Kolya managed to save her and her family, one of the still-unidentified men remains a threat. Suspense propels Manning’s espionage tale. Nearly every character is shifty and seemingly on the verge of a double-cross. Even the director of Russia’s security agency is perpetually wary of Bykovsky despite the fact that they’re brothers-in-law, especially since the president’s good moods are as volatile as his bad ones. Action is minimal, but the colorful cast fuels the momentum. For example, as Kolya searches for potential terrorists in Russia, his fiancee keeps her head down in Vermont with a former Mossad agent at her side and villains inching closer. This novel further cements the series’ arc; since Kolya’s final ECA mission entailed torture in the preceding installment, he suffers PTSD months afterward.

A reluctant spy leads this taut, effective thriller.