A Whisper of Black($20.99Value)

Description

In the sequel to A Flash of Red, former special operative Tyler Vance hopes to return to a quiet retirement with his family, but millions of dollars from illegal gun deals are still floating around, and Vance finds himself charged with getting back the money. Retired special operative Tyler Vance tangled with killers involved in a multimillion- dollar arms deal in the recent A Flash of Red (Putnam, 1996). Now the Bosnian Muslims are back, demanding that Vance recover their money for them. The millions are in the hands of Mexican drug dealer Hector Diaz. Complicating matters is the fact that Vance's family?his five-year-old son and elderly father?are both in danger. Vance killed Diaz's cousin in a shootout, and Diaz has put out a contract on all three Vances. Along with his capable colleagues, Vance sets up a bogus drug deal to lure Diaz to Vance's turf in North Carolina. Although Vance is now a freelance outdoors writer, he has lost none of his special skills, which are soon called into play. Harvey successfully builds tension as the smart-mouthed and humorous Vance strives to bring an end to the nightmare threatening his home. Recommended for most public libraries.?Maria A. Perez-Stable, Western Michigan Univ. Libs., Kalamazoo Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. Dust up a multimillion-dollar arms deal and what do you get? Trouble. And that's what retired army operative Tyler Vance has in this sequel to A Flash of Red (1996). One of the baddies out to get Vance is Hector Diaz, a Mexican drug lord who prefers to do his own "wet work." His presence looms large as Vance works his way through a score of other thugs who figure to get to him through his family. One of the hired killers, Harmony Cahill, turns sympathetic, offering Vance showdown tips as his personal high noon with Diaz approaches. Vance is Spenser's literary offspring: tough, prone to literary allusions, loyal, and a major-league smart ass. And Harvey echoes Robert Parker's spare, pithy style and command of dialogue. A Tyler Vance adventure isn't quite as good as a Spenser caper, but it effectively mines the same vein. Expect this exciting series to gain fans quickly as readers spread the word. Wes Lukowsky Another bromidic round of far-fetched roughhouse in the North Carolina wild with Tyler Vance, the irritatingly righteous star of Harvey's debut (A Flash of Red, 1996). When last heard from, widower Ty had bested a band of Bosnian brigands bent on running heavy-duty ordnance back to the old country from a base inconveniently close to the Vance family homestead outside Greensboro. This time, a couple of Serbs who survived the carnage accost the freelance writer (whose stock in trade is small arms) in the backwoods where he's testing a brace of new pistols. The Balkan bravos, who hold Ty responsible for the disappearance of a seven-figure bankroll, demand their money and warn him that his kin may be in danger from Hector Diaz, a Mexican druglord whose cousin was slain in the earlier shootout. Ty (who sermonizes incessantly on subjects ranging from down-home values to taxation) plays along for safety's sake. With a little help from redneck friends and the commanding officer of a special forces unit at Fort Bragg, Ty (on the outs with local law-enforcement agencies) saves son Cullen and dad Odie from attempts on their lives. One of the would-be killers escapes--an ex-CIA operative named Harmony Cahill--but this essentially good-hearted assassin subsequently joins forces with Ty. Ty, meanwhile, finds a way to lure Diaz north of the border. Before he can arrange a showdown with his principal adversary, however, he must gun down four of the vengeful Mexican's advance men at close quarters in an open field. He does so with commendable efficiency and goes into his mano a mano with Diaz somewhat the worse for wear. Fortunately, Harmony is there at the close to keep him alive. Harvey can be a expert hand at violent action, but such scenes can't redeem a creaky and improbable narrative featuring a cocksure, thoroughly unlikable protagonist. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.