cover image Robert Ludlum’s the Bourne Sacrifice

Robert Ludlum’s the Bourne Sacrifice

Brian Freeman. Putnam, $28 (384p) ISBN 978-0-593-41985-4

Thriller Award winner Freeman’s assured third contribution to the Bourne franchise (after 2021’s The Bourne Treachery) finds Jason Bourne on the trail of Vladimir Putin’s favorite assassin, the man known as Lennon. Besides wanting to take down the killer for his many assassinations, Bourne wants to question him because he has the keys to Bourne’s forgotten past. Bourne finally corners Lennon in a cabin in Iceland, but he escapes a fiery death when his assistant, codenamed Yoko, arrives in a helicopter and whisks him away. Meanwhile, Bourne’s old girlfriend, journalist Abbey Laurent, who hasn’t seen him in two years, is looking into the death of a mysterious German woman in Washington, D.C. Bourne’s hunt and Abbey’s investigation lead them toward each other—and to the Pyramid, a secret organization that will stop at nothing to achieve its nefarious goals. Never mind the familiar plot. Exciting action scenes, the untangling of the Pyramid mystery, Bourne’s fighting skills, and the enduring conundrum of his lost past keep the pages turning. Freeman is a worthy successor to Robert Ludlum. Agent: Sloan Harris, ICM Partners. (July)