Mexico Way

When several national security officials, serving a likable but none-too-clever president, form a cabal and develop a harebrained scheme to overthrow a country south of the border, they set in motion the events that fuel this violent tour de force by the coauthor of The Spike and Monimboo . The only person who can stop the U.S. from being sucked into the sinister Operation Safari is Jim Kreeger, the CIA bureau chief in Mexico City, who has been left out of the loop. As Texan oilmen and corrupt Mexicans plot to goad the U.S. into helping them create a new state in northern Mexico, Kreeger fishes for details and learns that he must contend with a peculiar modern hybrid: the swaggering ex-CIA officer turned soldier of fortune. As crunch time nears, Kreeger is scrambling, not only for his country's honor and safety, but also because he has a personal history with several Safari ``consultants.'' Although Moss occasionally lets his complex plot get out of hand, the narrative is suspenseful and timely, especially when he demonstrates how supposedly sane men can get sucked into irresponsible schemes in the name of patriotism. Mexico Way is a dark, funny adventure, one that seems crazy until it happens. (June)