Private Sector

The series featuring Sean Drummond, the Army attorney, continues. Drummond, is a likeable and believable hero. In this story he is loaned to a white shoe civilian law firm as part of an exchange program with the military. The private law firm has people involved with a crime syndicate that is involved with suspect dealings with a communications company. The brutal murders designed to cover up the tracks begin. There is high level involvement with the FBI and CIA. This is a real page turner!

I'll begin by saying that this is a genuine thriller, and if you like thrillers, Private Sector is worth reading. It is the third of Brian Haig's novels that I have read, and it is the best. In the previous books, I was turned off by his wisecracking protagonist, Major Sean Drummond, a US Army lawyer. But in this one, Drummond is loaned to a snooty, Washington law firm, and his flippancy toward its arrogant attorneys is refreshing. He replaces Captain Lisa Morrow, an Army attorney and good friend. But Captain Morrow is brutally murdered, and Drummond soon suspects that she had learned something about the law firm that put her in mortal peril. Murders continue, and when Drummond finds how they are linked, he becomes the killer's target. The plot twists and turns until it reached a thrilling climax.

I was hooked on Brian Haig's central character JAG lawyer Sean Drummond when I read THE KINGMAKER (five star review of 5/13/03); thus, I resolved to read the earlier books in the series to watch both the character development and changes in the author's technique and style. I subsequently finished SECRET SANCTION (3.5 star review of 7/30/03) and found it enjoyable but not nearly in the same class as THE KINGMAKER. Before I could get to MORTAL ALLIES (#2 in the series), PRIVATE SECTOR was published and I decided to read it before starting the earlier book. I highly recommend both the author and this book, although for reasons summarized at the end of this review (some of which may be entirely personal) I did not find it as completely enjoyable as THE KINGMAKER. But it is a fast moving, excellently plotted, well crafted story and continues the character development of Sean Drummond, who has the potential to be one of the enduring protagonists of this genre.When Major Drummond is notified by his boss, General Clapper, that he is being assigned to the PRIVATE SECTOR law firm Cupler, Hutch, and Westin under a "loan out" program whose supposed goal is to broaden the experience of the JAG staff while creating goodwill in the public sector, he immediately begins to plot the best method to sabotage the assignment without creating such enmity between himself and Clapper that he effectively terminates his Army career. He realizes that the combination of his natural personality traits should easily be able to be honed to accomplish the task, and immediately begins to alienate those with whom he comes into contact. The one interesting element of the assignment is that Sean is replacing fellow officer Lisa Morrow, whom he has come to know and respect during previous assignments and for whom he harbors a great deal of apparently unrequited affection. When Lisa indicates a desire to meet Sean, he is both curious about what aspects of her experience at Cupler he needs to be briefed and hopeful that she may be more attracted to him than he expected. Unfortunately, their meeting never occurs due to Lisa's apparently random murder in a DC parking lot (this minor spoiler is included because it is revealed on the book jacket) and Sean immediately decides he should supplement the efforts of the DC police and the CID ( the Army's Criminal Investigation Division) in investigating Lisa's death. Since he quickly comes to believe that Lisa's death may be related to Lisa's work at Cupler, he realizes that in order to effectively further his goal of catching Lisa's killer he has remain in the good graces of both the partners of Cupler and General Clapper, not at all an easy task for Sean.As the cliché goes, the plot quickly thickens as further increasingly brutal and apparently random murders occur. Meanwhile Sean is involved in helping the firm's largest client, Morris Networks, a telecommunications firm spawned during the financial market and technological excesses of the n

Hot headed Army attorney Sean Drummond has been given a new job at a Washington law firm, and he's not happy about it, but he figures it can't be that bad for the short time he'll be there...he's wrong.Sean is given the tour of his new firm, as well as being brought up to speed on the perks of his new job; new wardrobe courtesy of Brooks Brothers, expense account and brand new Jaguar. As Sean is settling into his new job, he receives his first client, a media giant vying for a contract with the Pentagon, and the news of his good friend Lisa Morrow's murder.Not knowing who to trust, Sean teams with Lisa's sister Janet, a smart Boston Assistant District Attorney to investigate the murder and bring a killer to justice, but in the process he discovers his new client is not what they say they are, and the company's owner has a dark, sinister side. Sean has never backed down from trouble before, and this time is no different as he makes sure nothing gets in the way of him avenging his friends murder. `Private Sector' is the best novel yet in the Sean Drummond series. With each new novel readers see the plots getting beefier, and the suspense thicker, proving there is long life ahead of this gripping series. Political intrigue, and complex plot twists combined with sharp legal thrills sets this thriller apart from others in the genre. Brian Haig has quickly become one of my favorite authors; from his original plots, and smooth writing, to the relentless pacing, and fast action he keeps the pages turning, and the reader guessing.The season of hot reads has begun, and `Private Sector' is a sure bet for an entertaining good time. Expect to see this novel on the bestseller lists, and fans anxiously awaiting the next appearance of Sean Drummond.If you have not read any novels by Brian Haig do yourself a favor and read him.Nick Gonnella

For 10 years I have anxiously awaited the release of each DeMille novel. With the arrival of each book, I would invariably finish it in 2 days and then lament having to wait another 9 months or so for the next offering. A few years ago, I saw a poster on a DC subway for a book called Secret Sanction by Brian Haig. I wouldn't have thought twice about the poster if it wasn't for a positive testimonial from Nelson DeMille that was printed on the poster. DeMille's rubber stamp was good enough for me. I immediately went out and bought Secret Sanction and was enthralled. I have since read Haig's other novels, including the recently published Private Sector, and each book was better than the prior one. Haig and DeMille are now interchangeable for me and my only negative with each of them is that I read their books too damn fast!! Sean Drummond is a phenomenal main character. His combination of intelligence, strength and wit combined with his self-recognized flaws make him intriguing, likable and, most of all, human. I hope that Haig sticks with Drummond in all future novels. Additionally, I hope that Haig continues to churn these stories out as quickly as possible. Private Sector took less than a day for me to read and it was gripping from the first page to the last. I already need another fix!! Nelson, it's now your turn!!