In the days following 9/11, former spy Thomas Jefferson
Danforth writes a Washington
think-tank to offer his wisdom in gathering intelligence about the tragedy. Specifically,
Danforth asks to speak with Paul Crane, one of the firm’s most junior
associates. Crane agrees reluctantly, hoping to return to DC as soon as
possible. He realizes he’ll need to change his plans, however, when Danforth
settles in to tell a story that began in 1939, when the world was on the brink
of war.
Danforth was asked if his Connecticut estate could be used as a place
to train Anna Klein, a valuable spy. Danforth soon became enamored of Anna and
volunteered to be part of her mission. The
mission changed, others were enlisted, treachery was suspected, Anna
disappeared, life took some ugly turns, and Danforth ends up paying a high
price for searching for Anna years after the war.
Told through the modern-day interview and flashbacks to the
past, the story keeps adding characters and double-crosses until it finally
collapses of its own weight. The various surprises that are revealed at the end
are not believable enough to make up for the confusing “Huh?”
that was my general reaction from about the middle of the book on.
Cook is one of my favorite authors, and his books are
usually peopled by characters who end up causing tragedy due to their moral
shortcomings. This book, on the other
hand, is peopled with characters who aren’t compelling one way or the other.
Their motives are, for the most part, neither noble nor caused by moral
shortcomings. This may be the first of his books to disappoint me, but disappoint
me it did—hugely. I was actually relieved when it was over, and it left me sorry
I’d wasted my time.
