Those hoping for a more original plot than that found in Twining's first book, The Double Eagle
, will be disappointed with this thriller again featuring Tom Kirk, a London-based ex-CIA agent and former professional art thief. Kirk is trying to go straight when he's recruited for a British MI6 operation to thwart a group of neo-Nazi extremists known as Kristall Blade. Tom wants no part of it until shown that his longtime enemy, Harry Renwick, is one of the conspirators. Soon Tom and partners Archie Connolly and the lovely Dominique de Lecourt are off on a Da Vinci Code
–like treasure hunt complete with maps, codes, secret safety deposit boxes, car chases, gun fights and those favorite WWII staples, Eichmann's "gold train" and the lost Russian Amber Room. Veteran thriller readers, especially those who specialize in the Nazi subgenre, will find few surprises. Kirk, a muted, low-key character, spends far too much time brooding about his complicated backstory; the man could use a strong dose of caffeine and less shopworn material to break him out of his lethargy. (Dec.)
