"Barry Lancet’s The Spy Across the Table is the perfect combination of mystery novel and espionage thriller wrapped into one. A skillfully written tale with gritty action sequences and a crafty plot that has hero Jim Brodie racing to unravel a conspiracy with geopolitical consequences from Washington to the Pacific Rim, Lancet’s latest offering is sure to thrill readers from the first page to the last."—Mark Greaney, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Gunmetal Gray
“As usual in a Lancet novel, the action scenes are first-rate—and violent—and the knowledge the author imparts about Asian politics and culture is deep. A solid, consistently smart thriller.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Lancet’s The Spy Across The Table is a masterful novel—a thriller ripe with intrigue, action, and heart."—Reed Farrel Coleman, New York Times bestselling author of What You Break
“Lancet uses his insider’s knowledge of Japanese culture to great advantage, giving the book a natural, realistic flavor. Brodie is, as always, a strong lead, and the book has some very nice twists. A strong entry in a consistently reliable series."—Booklist
“Lancet keeps the suspense high through the exciting climax...in this faced-paced fourth thriller featuring Japanese antiquities expert Jim Brodie.”—Publishers Weekly
“If you like your thrillers fusing espionage with murder mysteries, set in locations vividly described, and moving at a fast, dense clip with more twists and turns than many another author’s entire canon might provide, The Spy Across the Table should be very diverting summer reading."—Bookpleasures
“Along with lots of good old-fashioned mayhem, Lancet does a fine job on the complexities of electronic espionage — hacking, eavesdropping, GPS tracking, eye-in-the-sky surveillance, biometrics and the like. Readers who can’t keep up with the tech lingo and almost nonstop action might find the whole thing a bit overwhelming. But those who thrive on complex, tightly written thrillers are more likely to call it a tour-de-force.”—The Japan Times
“The hottest read of the summer season, if not the whole year.... The threats, suspense, double crosses and heart-stopping thrills never end in this chilling and realistic masterpiece that could be tomorrow’s international news. If you’re a fan of Flynn, Meltzer, or Dan Brown, you’ll be all-in with enthusiasm for Barry Lancet and his good guy PI, Jim Brodie. He’s tough, unusual, honest and absolutely awesome!”—Mysterious Book Report (John Dwaine McKenna)
“Barry Lancet is one of the few authors who can entertain and teach you something at the same time, hooking readers deeper and deeper as the story unfolds. That, combined with the fact that Brodie confronts threats that are relevent in today’s world, makes The Spy Across the Table a whole lot of fun to read!”—The Real Book Spy (Ryan Steck)
“Once again, Barry Lancet delivers a superb story that is worthy of praise. The plot is unpredictable and keeps the reader in suspense until the very last page.... An extremely captivating spy thriller.”—Seattle Book Review
“Novelist Barry Lancet’s Jim Brodie is back with a fourth installment in the thriller series with The Spy Across the Table. The latest book about Brodie, an American art dealer/security firm head/martial arts expert who was raised in Japan, lived up to my high expectations.”—Honolulu Star-Advertiser
“The action, as always when it comes to this fantastic character, never stops. Readers who have been waiting for the next Jim Brodie thriller to appear will not be disappointed.” —Suspense Magazine
“As always, Lancet is skillful with realistic characterization and vivid action scenes... Each book in this phenomenal series is interesting, thought-provoking and educational, which, I believe, makes them some of the best thrillers in the genre.”—Fresh Fiction
“A craftily plotted storyline accompanied by staccato paced action scenes explodes into a dynamic ending. A plentiful feast of suspense, mystery and intrigue!” —Top-Shelf Magazine
“The taut thriller is full of surprises, and keeps the double- and triple-crosses going almost until the very last page. At the same time, it provides plenty of local color and intriguing cultural and historical details without falling into the trap of exoticizing its foreign locations and characters.”—Tokyo Weekender
“If you haven't read any of Lancet's other Brodie novels, you may find yourself wanting to by the time you're done with this one.”—Japan Today
04/24/2017
A kabuki play at the Kennedy Center’s Opera House in Washington, D.C., sets the stage for Lancet’s fast-paced fourth thriller featuring Japanese antiquities expert Jim Brodie (after 2016’s Pacific Burn). Jim is happy to arrange for an old college friend of his, Michael “Mikey” Dillman, to meet another friend, Sayuri “Sharon” Tanaka—both of them renowned production designers—in a room backstage. Unfortunately, someone shoots them there, killing Sharon and mortally wounding Mikey, before escaping. The U.S. president’s wife, Joan Slater, who was a close friend of Sharon, hires Jim to find the murderer and insists that Jim share any information he discovers with Tom Swelley, a Homeland Security agent. Despite the First Lady’s instruction that they work together, Tom physically threatens Jim to get him to back off of the investigation. Jim’s mission takes him to Asia, including both North and South Korea, where he confronts great dangers and jeopardizes his serious relationship with his girlfriend. Lancet keeps the suspense high through the exciting climax. Agent: Robert Gottlieb, Trident Media Group. (June)
2017-04-04
After the assassination-style murders of two of his friends—a renowned Japanese theater designer and an American production designer for the movies—San Francisco PI Jim Brodie returns to his old Asian haunts to track down the killer.Sharon Tanaka and Mikey Dillman, the two designers, were murdered backstage during a Kabuki production at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. At Sharon's funeral in Tokyo, where Brodie grew up and operates a detective agency, her daughter, Anna, is abducted by a black-outfitted gang and whisked off to North Korea. We learn that Anna is a software genius who devised a top-secret information-gathering program for the National Security Agency. If the North Koreans successfully squeeze her, they will gain access to all manner of American military, political, and security secrets. In what is business as usual for Brodie, he must go up against an unruly collection of thugs and spies, including a ruthless Chinese killer who likes to play elaborate cat-and-mouse games and a Homeland Security heavy out to bust Brodie's chops. This time, however, Brodie has the president and first lady pulling out the stops for him. The intrepid detective is in for some serious hard knocks after he and his taciturn partner, Noda, sneak into North Korea. As usual in a Lancet novel, the action scenes are first-rate—and violent—and the knowledge the author imparts about Asian politics and culture is deep. Brodie's Japanese cop girlfriend and precocious 7-year-old daughter are largely on the sidelines this time, but he has more than enough to do to be distracted from missing them. Lancet's hero, who likely has more frequent flyer miles than any other fictional PI after four books, is in top form going after a kidnapped security analyst in North Korea. A solid, consistently smart thriller.
