cover image No Exit

No Exit

Hardiman Scott. Vanguard Press, $13.95 (237pp) ISBN 978-0-8149-0907-2

Great Britainisolated, defenseless, abandoned by its traditional alliesis a Soviet target in this thought-provoking suspense novel by the author of Operation 10. Michael North, a BBC correspondent assigned to Moscow, is given vital information by Pachenko, a trusted Russian friend, to be passed on to Britain's Foreign Secretary. The microfilm reveals a plot by the Soviet Union to take advantage of Britain's estrangement from the rest of Europe to launch a full-scale military invasion. When Michael is sent back to Moscow to learn more about the plan, he takes with him Carol Rogers, a government agent masquerading as his wife, and romance blossoms. But Michael is arrested by the KGB, framed with the murder of Azhimov, the source of his information, and as he, Carol and Pachenko look helplessly on, a Russian takeover of Britain seems imminent. Clean, crisp writing and sympathetic characters make this a satisfying thriller. October 29