Whirlwind

This is a very well-written espionage thriller, which meets all of the criteria of that particular genre. The hero is brave and intrepid, the task is a matter of national security, there are extremely evil and nasty villans, and there is a beautiful young woman in grave danger. The author dances a lot of tightropes in this book, but he makes it look easy, and the pages keep turning, for the action goes on endlessly. It's a great read that will keep you up well beyond your bedtime, and that's high praise for a book these days!

This is really a new genre for me and so I was surprised that this read not only maintained my interest, but it kept me up all night until I finished it. There is nothing, and I mean nothing wrong with this read. The characterization was dead on, the action was top drawer, and the ending was amazing. This was the first time I've ever read Ms. Garber, and all I can say is it won't be the last. I highly recommend this author and this read if you like edge of your seat reading that will leave you turning the pages until the suprise end!

The POSTIVES: 1) A well crafted intriguing plot with many surprising twists 2) Interesting, well developed central characters 3) Fast paced action 4) The wonderful cynical commentary woven into the story concerning the motivations of some despicable political operatives 5) An epilogue that cleverly ties up all the loose ends in a satisfying and somewhat surprising manner The NEGATIVES 1) Unnecessary violence and scenes of torture portrayed in excessive detail 2) Action in the final climatic scene that defies credibility even by the standards of such thrillers I really enjoyed this action-thriller by Joseph Garber featuring unjustly disgraced CIA agent Charlie McKenzie. Charlie is relaxing at home with his daughter and grandson when he receives a panicked call from the president's national security advisor (a true sleazeball) concerning a national emergency so extreme (way beyond only a crisis) that the President has asked him to secretly recruit Charlie to utilize his unique skills in the service of his country. After some wonderful negotiating (which in other circumstances might be labeled blackmail), Charlie agrees to take the assignment to recover some top secret weapons technology codenamed WHIRLWIND which has been stolen by a Russian spy named Irina Kolodenkova. (Who, in a surprising twist, is not the villian of this story.) This simple plot is made interesting by its myriad complications and a somewhat realistic technological premise; but it is the interaction of the characters and the psychological elements of the tale which result in much more than the standard storyline of this genre (which could be summarized as the struggle of an heroic -but flawed - individual opposed by the overwhelming resources of a major and unprincipled opponent). Charlie assumes that once he has located Irina and recovered the WHIRLWIND information, his knowledge will become a liability and he will be considered expendable, so he has to figure out how to accomplish his mission while preserving his future. At times this effort results in an uneasy alliance of convenience between Irina and Charlie, both of whom need each other if they are to remain alive once a super efficient paramilitary organization headed by a truly evil individual named Johan Schmidt is also hired to recover Whirlwind. Details are impossible without spoilers, and in any case they wouldn't do justice to the enjoyment which this novel provides since much of it comes from the psychological elements and the tone and the interplay between the characters. There were a few instances where the description phrases were essentially prose poetry. My only reservations are detailed above, especially the violence, and this is my reason for not rating it a full five stars. I understand that it adds to the intensity of the story and provided additional support to the degree of danger faced by Charlie and Irina, but it was too sickeningly graphic for me although relegated to mercifully brief episodes.

Whirlwind is one of those thrillers where a memorable character makes the book delightful. Charlie McKenzie is that character. As the book opens, the national security advisor to the president of the United States has a terrible problem . . . a top secret next generation defense technology has been stolen by a Russian agent. The problem is so desperate that a call is placed to Charlie, who's been denied, imprisoned and deflated by the same presidential team in the past. But Charlie's been waiting for this moment . . . and knows what he wants in return. Charlie's the best there is at CIA dirty tricks and wet work. Although he's not young any more, he's developed extraordinary cunning. He can read other people like most of us can read the printed page . . . and that gives him an enormous edge in handling any problem. The bad news is that Charlie knows that he will be betrayed again, unless he looks out for himself and his family. And he's prepared to do both. That knowledge is soon reinforced when the government brings in an old nemesis to dog his tracks and eliminate Charlie after he's done his work. Few things surprise Charlie, but Irina Kolodenkova proves to vastly exceed his expectations . . . in ways that remind him of his dead wife. Finding himself both attracted to her and protective of her, he still has to be sure that the deadly secret remains in U.S. hands. The plot of this story has several delightful qualities. There's an element in the book that reminded me of the best of the Sherlock Holmes stories featuring careful questions and thinking that lead to logical answers to puzzles. Charlie is also one of those unflappable types, and seeing him deal with severe problems in debonair ways reminded me of some of the roles that Fred Astaire played. In addition, there's a comic element that would make this book into a great screenplay for a movie. I hope that will follow. The downside of the book is that it has too much gratuitous violence and sadism. On the positive side, I was impressed that the "secret" turns out to have a potential basis in science that is vastly more credible than 99 of 100 thrillers I read that use that plot device. Nice work, Mr. Garber!