The Reykjavik Assignment

October 3, 2016
Lebor’s overstuffed final book in his trilogy featuring United Nations covert negotiator Yael Azoulay (after 2014’s The Washington Stratagem) takes Yale from Istanbul to New York City, where she has to deal with an array of problems, past and present, personal and professional. First off, she’s being followed by operatives from an old enemy, Clarence Clairborne, the head of a shadowy security firm implicated in a recent attempt to assassinate the U.S. president. Meanwhile, a top U.N. official has just been gunned down on the street and another wounded. Suspicion seems to be falling on Iranian agents. Yael is also starting to pick up disturbing rumors about the mysterious death of her brother many years ago in Rwanda. To top it all off, Yael, now 36, is agonizing over her many romantic misfortunes and wondering why she can’t attract a steady lover. Other subplots abound, and many readers will be confused about what to keep their eye on. They may also grow irritated by the author’s overuse of cliff-hangers. Agent: Elizabeth Sheinkman, William Morris.