Bestseller Stone's entertaining fourth thriller featuring Micah Dalton (after The Venetian Judgment
) takes the CIA “cleaner” (an operative who cleans up the mess after an agency mission has gone awry) to Vienna, where Micah finds himself being followed by a team of agents of unknown origin. In short order, Micah captures one of his pursuers, Veronika Miklas; beds her; fights off an attack by two killers; and goes on the lam, with Veronika voluntarily joining him. Soon everyone wants Micah dead, including his own CIA handlers. An old buddy, Ray Fyke, who's “exactly what Micah Dalton needs” despite Ray's reputation as a crazed killer and a drunk, joins Micah and Veronika on a body-strewn rampage through Europe in an effort to learn why Micah has become a marked man. While the nearly nonstop action and the consistently interesting lead character will keep readers turning the pages, a limp ending disappoints. (May)
