The Hunters

November 13, 2006
Bestseller Griffin's ponderous third Presidential Agent novel picks up where the previous entry, The Hostage
, left off, following U.S. Army Maj. Carlos "Charley" Castillo, a troubleshooter who takes orders directly from the president, as he fumbles about in South America and Europe. Castillo and his crew of specialists are trying to figure out who ordered the murder of American diplomat Jean-Paul Lorimer, who was shot to death in Uruguay while under suspicion of various international misdeeds, including a shady food-for-oil conspiracy in Iraq. Long stretches of dialogue and description come across more as showcases for Griffin's knowledge than as solid narrative, while Castillo and his cohorts never rise beyond their assigned roles. Fans will miss the more captivating heroes of Griffin's Brotherhood of War or the Corps series. Author tour.

November 15, 2006
This third entry in Griffin's exciting and timely "Presidential Agent" series begins literally minutes after the end of the previous novel, "The Hostage", and again features the irreverent but highly capable Charley Castillo and all the other ensemble characters. The plot here focuses on the UN "oil for food" scandal and the murderers who will stop at nothing to protect themselves and their own national interests. Castillo is so busy chasing the bad guys that he almost forgets his girlfriend, who's recuperating in a hospital. Oops. Exhibiting a thorough knowledge of how the government and the military work (or don't work) and a detailed knowledge of multitudes of weapons systems, Griffin offers another novel that is fast-paced, exciting, and great fun to read. Griffin's loyal readers will hope that more will be coming soon. Recommended for all popular fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 9/1/06.]Robert Conroy, Warren, MI

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2006
Presidential agent Charley Castillo returns for another high-concept adventure. In Uruguay, a man is murdered before he can spill the secrets of an elaborate scam aimed at destroying the international reputation of the U.S. Fortunately, the ever-resourceful Castillo seems to have an unlimited number of tricks up his sleeve, and he always manages to keep one step ahead of the game. Though it lacks the punch of some of Griffin's wildly popular military thrillers (the Brotherhood of War series, for example), the Castillo novels offer timely plots and enough firepower to keep the action-adventure crowd happy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)