THE JERICHO PACT

Author: Rachel Lee ISBN: 0778324168 3/2007 SUSPENSE Publisher: MIRA

A SINISTER PLOT TO SEIZE POWER IS ABOUT TO PLUNGE EUROPE INTO A NEW HOLOCAUST... After the assassination of the German chancellor, the security of Office 119 is torn by the multitude of threats facing Europe and its people. Now time is running out. Agent Renate Bachle must do everything and anything to stop a conspirator willing to push nations to war and scapegoat an entire race in a bid for deadly power. In the shadows, a renegade priest and his bodyguard attempt to protect a sacred codex as ancient as it is coveted. But not even those willing to manipulate the Vatican to save the world can grasp the true nature of the power that has fallen into the wrong hands. All they can do is try to harness it long enough to stem the tide of blood and evil before it washes across Europe ...and the globe.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

You might not think a novel with so many characters and with so many different facets would be so exciting.

But the complex and sophisticated THE JERICHO PACT entices readers to come in and stay awhile. This fast-paced, ambitious work is not only mind boggling, but addictive. And oh-so-relevant in today's chaotic world.

This novel is the sequel to the magnetic THE CRIMSON CODE, centering on the exploits of Office 119 with many of the same characters reappearing in THE JERICHO PACT. Characters who are again pitted in a global war of good (and, perhaps, not so good) and evil.

The plot, however, is the real draw in THE JERICHO PACT. There are so many characters moving around in this novel, that none of them has any real depth. These characters act more like the spokes of a wheel working to keep the storyline moving quickly.

And THE JERICHO PACT does move like lightning, despite the hopscotching from numerous characters and differing locales. This astonishing work steamrolls toward a crashing conclusion with a number of dangling elements ripe for another Office 119 novel.

Absolutely riveting, wickedly thrilling, meticulously researched and highly engaging, THE JERICHO PACT is top-notch entertainment.

As an afterthought, among the many characters of the Office 119 series, Lawton Caine remains my favorite, and I hope the writing duo who make up Rachel Lee give him the uncomplicated heroine he so richly deserves.

Debbie Jett