The Book of Spies »

Gayle Lynds is the bestselling, award-winning author of several international espionage thrillers, including Masquerade, The Coil, and The Last Spymaster. A member of the Association for Intelligence Officers, she is cofounder (with David Morrell) of ITW (International Thriller Writers). She lives in Santa Barbara.

"For centuries, emperors, historians, and even the Vatican have tried to locate Ivan the Terrible's magnificent Library of Gold - a long-missing archive containing gold-covered, bejeweled books dating all the way back to the ancient Greeks. Now one of the volumes,The Book of Spies, has surfaced, and along with it the highly secret book club that owns the Library of Gold. They form a cabal of the globe's most powerful men - men who will do anything to achieve their aims and protect their interests." When the CIA discovers a connection between the legendary library and a bank account linked to terrorists, they turn to rare books curator Eva Blake for help. Soon an attempt is made on Eva's life. Determined not only to survive but to uncover the truth, Eva turns to the only person she can trust - Judd Ryder, a former intelligence agent with his own agenda and a troubled past. Together, Judd and Eva embark on an international adventure from London to Rome, Istanbul, and Athens. Somehow they must do what no one else has been able to do - find the library and stay alive.

Publishers Weekly

Rare-book expert Eva Blake is pulled into a frantic search for the Library of Gold--a collection of illuminated manuscripts thought to be lost in the 15th century--and embroiled in a conspiracy that reaches to the mountains of Afghanistan. As in the novels of Robert Ludlum, with whom Lynds has collaborated, the pace is unrelenting and the villains unbelievably efficient and prescient. While the story is tense and exciting in some places, the protagonists are too thinly drawn to invite emotional investment. Still, Kate Reading wrings every last drop of drama from the story; she handles the characterizations exceedingly well, creates plausible female and male characters of all age and accents, and keeps her audience enraptured. A St. Martin's hardcover (Reviews, Feb. 15). (May)