Black Majesty Bk 1

Though it shifts scenes and points of view, this fifth novel (Man on Fire, etc.) by the pseudonymous Quinnell is effective because its animating motivation is credible. Jason Peabody, a seasoned but rigid State Department expert, is posted as ambassador to San Carlo, the capital of a troubled Central American nation. Revolution erupts and terrorists seize the American embassy, taking Peabody hostage. In Havana, Fidel Castro commissions brilliant intelligence operative Jorge Calderone to find out from Peabody the name of the traitor in the Cuban cabinet. A Kissinger-like presidential adviser details black U.S. Army colonel Silas Slocum to rescue the ambassador before mental and physical torture wring the secret from him. This is a literate thriller with tension, pace and some telling insights into the ways of terrorists, revolutionaries and diplomats. (July 30)