cover image A HANDFUL OF KINGS

A HANDFUL OF KINGS

Mark Jacobs, . . Simon & Schuster, $24 (288pp) ISBN 978-0-7432-4590-6

A female American diplomat is sucked into a terrorist plot and a famous novelist is forced to look hard at his values and beliefs in this second novel by Jacobs, a former foreign service officer and acclaimed short story writer (The Liberation of Little Heaven ; Stone Cowboy ). Set in Spain and Colombia, the novel is a suspense tale in the tradition of Graham Greene, though it lacks the force and finesse of Greene's work. Vicky Sorrell is ready to quit her job as a cultural attaché at the American Embassy in Madrid when writer Jack Baines arrives and disrupts her plans. Jack's nephew has been kidnapped in Bogotá, part of a plot by a smart, ugly rebel leader called Badger to embarrass America into withdrawing from Colombia, and Baines has been instructed by the kidnappers to put pressure on American officials. The trouble is that Baines is not very believable—either as the kind of bestselling, critically acclaimed novelist who might have political influence (he comes across as a second-rate Robert Stone) or as a possible lover who might tempt a sharp, disillusioned woman like Vicky. And despite Jacobs's skill at bringing Spain and its diplomatic circles to life, there's a mustiness to the setting that makes it seem light-years from today's headlines. Agent, Christie Fletcher. (Feb.)