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Summary: AN EXCELLENT ESPIONAGE THRILLER
Review: Gayle Lynds has written an excellent fast paced thriller. THE COIL and its predecessor MASQUERADE are both excellent reads that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys tightly plotted espionage fiction. Lynd's work reminds me of Robert Ludlum's earlier books and also those of Helen McInnes.
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Summary: Freed from the shadow of Ludlum
Review: Gayle Lynds not only grew up reading Robert Ludlum but also collaborated with him on three novels before his death in 2001. Now Lynds has stepped out of the master's shadow with a rousing new work that will earn a prominent place on every thriller lover's bookshelf.The Coil features the return of Liz Sansborough (who first appeared in Masquerade in 1995), a former CIA covert operative whose hatred of violence caused her to abandon that life and flee to California to live a quiet existence as a college professor. But she can never leave her former life completely behind. Powerful groups believe Sansborough possesses vital information -- the kind of intelligence that can bring down governments -- and they will do anything to obtain that knowledge. As one of the few writers who combines an uncommon knowledge of the covert world with a craftsman's skill at thriller writing, Lynds knows the genre as well as anyone who has ever worked in it. In this book she brings all her expertise to bear. With a panoramic backdrop of exotic European locales, breakneck pacing, a tough and brainy protagonist, and vicious villains, The Coil has all of the pieces in place to make it spellbinding. Reviewed by David Montgomery, Chicago Sun-Times
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Summary: Spiralling, Finger-Biting Suspense
Review: Gayle Lynds strikes a best seller with THE COIL, her newest espionage thriller, and moves out of the shadow of her collaboration with Robert Ludlum to become her own star in this genre. While Ludlum proved he was a practical visionary who used his novels to warn the public of political corruption at the highest government levels and to portray the terrorist "raison d'etre," he was also a master chess player more intrigued with the moves of the pawns in his plots than their substance. Through his characters, he expounded personal rhetoric. Lynds, on the other hand, brings more human dimension to the chess game of "what ifs" in her novels. She delves into specific psychological and physiological conditions, which interplay with her protagonists' inner conflicts and novels' plots, to educate her readers about real experiences that happen to real people. In her first three novels-Masquerade, Mosaic and Mesmerized-she has dealt with the effects of Asperger's syndrome, cellular memory and conversion disorder. In THE COIL, Lynds explores the psychology of violence in the betrayal of the world's 'haves' versus 'have nots.' Heroine Liz Sanborough is a psychology professor, who is forced out of retirement to return to spying for the CIA to rescue the two people she loves most. At least she believes she is working for the CIA when her look-alike cousin, journalist Sarah Walker, and her CIA-agent husband, Asher Flores, are kidnapped in Paris. Their ransom? A disk of zipped files Liz's father compiled. They detail targets and clients he worked for as an independent hired assassin code-named Carnivore. Either before or after Carnivore died in an explosion, someone pilfered his files and is blackmailing powerful figures to manipulate the globalization of trade and multi-national mergers. The kidnappers believe Liz has them and want the files to launch their own agenda of control over the world's economies. As the bodies fall and the suspense builds, a maze of intrigue spirals into ever evolving deceptions that isolate Liz and force her to realize that the CIA is not running or protecting her and her cousins. Enter another of Liz's cousins, Simon Childs, an MI6 agent. He is also pursuing the Carnivore's files because he believes they will lead to his step-father's murderer. Together they search for the secret group of conspirators whose influence reaches up to their chiefs in the CIA and MI6. The closer they come to recovering Carnivore's files, however, the more "The Coil" isolates them until it finally traps them in its web of ultimate betrayal. Even if Liz and Simon find the files in time to save Sarah and Asher, "The Coil" cannot let any of them live to identify the members of its diabolical inner sanctum of world power. Throughout the chase to find the files, Liz grapples with her longing to trust someone and her belief that violence begets violence. She refuses to carry a gun, determined to battle her adversaries with wit and surprise martial art moves, until her lack of firepower almost costs the lives of her cousins when she flubs a rescue attempt. At this point, the pros and cons to physical violence pitch Liz headlong into the realm of realistic possibilities. So, while suspense drives the reader to stick to the story until the very last page, it is impossible to close another Lynds' book without thinking about the underlying human condition her novel explores. After reading THE COIL for instance, where will we stand on the issues of violence, as a person and as a nation? How long can we afford to let the question go unanswered? THE COIL won't let us forget. And if we're not prepared to decide, Lynds shows us the consequences of our collective apathy in the real world. She goes beyond Ludlum's aim to entertain and makes us think, and in doing so, makes a difference in our lives. That's what great writing is all about.
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Summary: Polished political techno-thriller
Review: Gayle Lynds, a talented colleague of Robert Ludlum, has penned a slick, clever and cerbral espionage thriller in "The Coil". Lynds using an impressive knowledge of geopolitics, developes a fast moving plot replete with well developed characters. The main protagonist, Liz Sansborough is a professor at U. California at Santa Barbara and also the hostess of a cold war TV series. An ex-CIA operative, she was set up in the prestigious professorship by a foundation that served as a CIA front to keep her safe and under surveillance. Astonishingly, Liz's parents, who are now deceased, were an assassination team. Her dad was an elite contract killer with the moniker of The Carnivore. While at the university, attempts were made on Liz's life. Through investigation she learns that secret files kept by her notorious father have been stolen. They are being used to blackmail certain influential members of government, finance and industry resulting in a plethora of curious mishaps and accidents. Probing further, Sansborough learns that her cousin Sarah, an almost identical look alike, and her husband Asher, a CIA operative have been kidnapped. Extending her inquest to Europe she teams up with another cousin, Simon Childs, a British M16 agent to try to unearth the blackmail scheme. Childs' father, Robert, an influential member of Parliament committed suicide under suspicious circumstances. They uncover clues that point to a group called The Coil, a small bunch of wealthy politicians and industrialists who secretly shape world policies is an effort towards globalization of industry, to maximize their own financial interests. Liz and Simon Childs proceed on a globe trotting search to rescue Sarah and Asher and recover the stolen Carnivore files. What results is an exhilarating plot that concludes with some unexpected plot twists that left this reader very impressed.
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Summary: Action-Packed, Spider-Killing Suspense
Review: I get a lot of ARCs (advance reader copies) and since I know I'm not reading the finished product, I'll tend to gloss over a few mistakes, you know, if a character has blue eyes in chapter one and then they're brown in chapter three, stuff like that. However, the ARC I received of Ms. Lynds THE COIL was as close to a polished and finished novel as I've seen in an advanced copy in a long time. Not much for me to complain about. In fact my only problem with the book was the way Ms. Lynds sometimes jumps from one character's head to another without warning. I prefer only one point of view per scene, but then that's me, there are writers and readers that prefer more of an omnipresent point of view. That out of the way, I must say that I absolutely enjoyed this novel and that pleased me, because I just love it when a woman takes on men at their game and does the job just as well, or better. And I mean that in two ways. Ms. Lynds' lead character, Liz Sansbourough does a man's job, a very difficult man's job, just as well, if not better than her male counterparts, without letting any of the usual feminine frailties we usually see in thrillers get in the way. Okay, there was that bit where Liz didn't want to pick up a gun, because she was tired of all the violence in the world, but she gets over it. And then there is Ms. Lynds' novel itself. She could very easily write nice little mysteries, the kind we all know and love to read, but instead she's put herself smack in the middle of a genre that is almost universally read by men, and at a time when about seventy percent of all fiction readers are women, because it seems men are too busy with their faces buried in computer and software manuals. That takes guts. As a bit of a feminist, I leave this book with a tough question. When my husband, an ex-cop, finished this novel his exact words were, "Honey, I loved this story, she writes just like a man." How should I have taken that? Was it a compliment? From his mouth it certainly was, because he is a longtime reader of spy and Cold War fiction, from Fleming to Ludlum. But from my point of view, well, I wanted to throttle him. However, I understand what he meant, Ms. Lynds has written an action novel that he really enjoyed and, dummy that he is, he can't admit that we women can be every bit as macho as tough guy males. By the way, the other day hubby shouted down from the shower, he needed my immediate aid. Something about a spider that needed killing. Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne
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Summary: Better than Ludlum
Review: I just finished reading the Coil, and it truly a thrill. I've been a fan of Lynds' ever since she wrote Masquerade, but she just keeps getting better. I was glad to return to the character of Liz Sansborough and her international adventures. It's been too long. Don't keep us waiting Gayle Lynds: your readers need to read your next novel soon!
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Summary: Gayle Lynds' The Coil
Review: I received an ARC of Gayle Lynds' The Coil. Anyone who purchases the finished product will get their money's worth. It's going to be difficult to tell you too much without spoilers. This book engaged my attention from the beginning. If you like intrigue, secret agendas, American & British intelligence services, and conspiracies, read this book. There is also a hint of romance. I found myself skipping descriptive portions because I wanted to find out what happened next. I later went back & re-read these portions because Gayle does have fine descriptive talents. This book is exciting and has twists & turns that surprise both you the reader and the characters involved.
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Summary: As Good as Ludlum
Review: I remember Lynds from being a Robert Ludlum co-author of books I enjoyed. This is her second book I've read and it was as fine as any that Ludlum wrote. She's a talented writer of international intrigue who weaves a great plot with many twists and turns. If you like Vince Flynn and Robert Ludlum, you'll like this novel.
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Summary: (5+) A Terrific Thriller with Substance as Well as Action
Review: I suggest that you READ MASQUERADE FIRST; I am extremely glad that I did so. (See review 3/4/04.) This sequel to MASQUERADE clearly incorporates all the necessary background information (gradually as required, rather than force feeding the reader a great deal of info all at one time) for this to be a wonderful standalone read. However, the analogy that I would draw is between an understanding of how turnips taste by listening to an excellent description by someone else versus an understanding gained through the experience of actually tasting them. Or, in this case a better analogy might be that it makes sense to partake of the superb appetizer before moving on to the main course, no matter how hungry one is and how delicious the rest of the meal appears. And that analogy is perfect, since those two wonderful works leave a high standard for the dessert that the author will have to prepare for all the new fans she will undoubtedly gain from the success of this book. It certainly seems that she has backed into a series in the same manner as did Robert Ludlum, her co-author of the Covert One series, with the Bourne trilogy. The difference being that the characters here are more complex, we have a new addition to the cast with this book, and that the several male and female leads take turns occupying center stage. Five years ago Liz Sansborough completed her debriefings with the myriad government agencies interested in her career as an undercover field operative for the CIA and her knowledge of the Cold War assassin The Carnivore. She is now teaching at UC Santa Barbara and has combined her knowledge and intelligence to co-produce a hit cable TV series, SECRETS OF THE COLD WAR. The violence in her life seems a distant memory when she is unexpectedly viciously attacked while jogging and her world is thrown into sudden confusion. Relationships which she has taken for granted are brought into question; simultaneously her cousin Sarah and Sarah's husband have been attacked in Paris by an unknown group that is demanding immediate access to extremely valuable and sensitive information which they believe Sarah or Liz can locate for them. Suddenly Liz is plunged back into a world that she thought she had left behind, not only does she find herself in great danger but concomitantly finds her philosophical commitment to eschewing violence continually tested. As Liz tries to unravel the mystery of who is behind the attacks on her and Sarah, she crosses paths with Simon Childs, an undercover MI6 agent who she has not seen since they were childhood playmates. The shadowy forces pursuing Liz and Sarah clearly have immense resources; their apparent ability to utilize the assets controlled by both powerful governmental agencies and private corporations make them incredibly dangerous enemies and mean Simon and Liz become the proverbial agents afraid to come in from the cold. No brief description can adequately describe the complexity of the plot without including spoilers, so I will not try. But if you want a wild ride around Europe, with the protagonists having to constantly use their skills to escape the unknown forces in pursuit, this book won't disappoint you. There are three elements which elevate this book above the usual thriller, however. First, as in MASQUERADE, the characters are real people - not just action characters. And yet the author manages this character development through her narrative skill, not through long descriptive asides. Second, I found the extra touches truly enjoyable, e.g. one of the characters picking up a Covert One novel to read, the parking garage scene reminiscent of Jason Bourne's escape and especially the wonderful symbolic use of the Titans, which recalled long forgotten lessons of Greek mythology. Third and most importantly, this is a thriller with a stronger philosophical undertone than the previous story. There is a recurring discussion concerning the impact of globalization, and while not completely balanced it is far from a onesided tirade. More importantly, this is a wonderful and cautionary description of how power tends to corrupt even individuals with the best of intentions (to borrow an insight from Lord Acton). Invariably, the worthiness of the goals being pursued are invoked in an attempt to justify actions which are unexcusable. Just as predictably, the concentration of power also allows individuals corrupted by their personal desires to cause great harm in the pursuit of wealth, power, and fame. This story is an implicit plea for transparency in the major organizations which affect our lives, and clearly illustrates the need for our eternal vigilance and skepticism concerning all concentrations of power. But it is not a sermon, just a first rate thriller that provides cause for thought. This book receives my highest recommendation for readers interested in the genre. Once again, read MASQUERADE first! It will increase your enjoyment of THE COIL, and if you are one of the few people not to like it then there is no reason to read this book anyway. A last important caveat, if you read THE COIL first, it is a true sequel and thus there is enough information provided concerning the events in the previous book so that MASQUERADE may not be nearly as suspenseful or as surprising if read subsequently. Disclaimer: I was contacted by the author and furnished with an advance review copy of this book based on my reviews of previous books of this genre including THE JANSON DIRECTIVE (Ludlum - review 10/30/02) and THE ALTMAN CODE (Covert One - review 7/5/03). I have never met either the author or her publisher, but include this disclaimer so that the reader may have all significant information concerning any facts that may have prejudiced this review. Given my enthusiasm for her work, I am extremely pleased that she contacted me and alerted me to the publication of THE COIL. Tucker Andersen
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Summary: A riveting thriller and so much more.....
Review: I thought I knew what was happening in this book. There are some files, dangerous files containing explosive information that could topple corporations and governments. The rich and powerful men of the ultra-secret group known only as The Coil want those files. And they think Liz Sansborough knows where they are. After all, the files belonged to her father, the notorious assassin known only as The Carnivore. Sounds pretty simple yeah? Rich bad guys want files, they go after our heroine to find the files, chase, escape, yes yes, I can see where this is going. But I was wrong. The book constantly surprised me. Yes, it rockets along as any thriller should, ratcheting up the tension with every new page, but there is so much more. Every time I thought I knew where the book was going, it took me in an unexpected direction. Who is good? Who is evil? You can't always tell, and those added layers of complexity and ambiguity make this novel a richly satisfying read. Lynds' clearly puts an incredible amount of research into this book, and her deep knowledge of places, institutions, and history add yet more to the story without slowing down the plot for an instant. I haven't read Lynds' work before, so I am excited to find that she's written other books, I can hardly wait to read Masquerade!
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