Achilles' Heel » (Unabridged)

U.S. military defense analyst Bill Lane is on the trail of a Russian sub that was to be harmlessly scuttled. An ex-KGB agent who masterminds the theft is supposed to be dead. But Lane will have to prepare himself for one more surprise when he finally tracks down his target and faces an opponent.

Publishers Weekly

Top-flight adventure writer Flannery brings back U.S. military intelligence analyst Bill Lane and his lover, British agent Frannie Shipley, this time hot on the trail of an old Russian submarine, which is said to have been sunk with all hands but has in fact been sold to unfriendly powers. While Lane (perhaps the best-dressed espionage agent since James Bond) tries to locate the sub and identify the purchaser, he and Frannie must also deal with Valeri Yernin, a psychopathic Russian assassin who has sworn to kill them both in revenge for a previous mission they foiled. The scenes shift swiftly among Switzerland, London, the Channel Islands and the sub's ever-changing locations as it slides underwater toward its mysterious destination. Plenty of shoot-em-ups set the stage for the final violent confrontation between Yernin, Lane and Frannie (herself no mean markswoman), capped by a final explosive submarine event. As in the previous Bill Lane adventures (Winner Take All and Kilo Option), the good guys are sympathetic and responsible and even most of the bad guys have some humanity. One hopes we'll be seeing more of Bill and Frannie. (Aug.)