Red Cell: A Novel by Mark Henshaw (Touchstone, $24.99, 336 pages)
The president of Taiwan orders the arrest of a set of spies from China, and China retaliates with a military attack. As the U. S. moves battleships into the war area, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) learns that its top mole within China, “Pioneer”, has been uncovered; and that the president of China is ready to go to war with America. It seems that the Red Chinese have a secret weapon known only by the code name The Assassin’s Mace.
With the prospect of a war to end all wars on the horizon, The Company turns to Kyra Stryker, a young Jason Bourne-like agent who barely survived her prior mission in Venezuela. Now she’s called upon to not only rescue Pioneer, but to also – as a member of the select Red Cell think tank, find and destroy The Assassin’s Mace. Nothing less than the future of the Free World rests in her hands.
Mark Henshaw has written an espionage thriller that can stand beside the very best of its genre. A former, highly-decorated CIA analyst and member of the Red Cell, Henshaw takes us deep within the world of spies, from Virginia to South America and Asia. This one will make a great film, and every young actress in Hollywood will vie for the role of Kyra Stryker!
Highly recommended.
Joseph Arellano
A review copy was provided by the publisher. Red Cell was released on May 1, 2012 and is also available as a Kindle Edition and Nook Book download.