The Right Hand

The Right Hand
Derek Haas
Mulholland Books
Little, Brown and Company
Hachette Books
ISBN: 978-0-316-19846-2
November 2012
272 pages
$ 25.99

Using the philosophy of most spies, the right hand should not know what the left hand is doing. Most successful spies basically work alone while accomplishing their goals.

For everyone's protection, the right and left hands of any mission do not communicate especially if illegal actions are needed. The only one who has some idea is the mission handler who even then, only knows the bare necessities of
these activities.

For Austin Clay, he is the right hand of the C.I.A. usually being assigned the most dangerous and critical missions possibly even illegal. His current mission is to find a missing spy who has been captured by the Russians. The C.I.A. Is fairly certain that the missing man is being tortured and with previous dealings with the Russians, they are certain that at some point the man will be forced to reveal secrets. With Clay's background, intelligence, and skills, he is the most likely one to be able to fit into the setting to get close enough to actual succeed in the rescue.

However, reality is that things are not usually as simple as they seem and he quickly discovers a multitude of related issues surrounding this situation, all of which involve the Russians. Along the way he finds himself looking for a young woman who the Russians are also racing to find and eliminate. Inside Russia, he will do anything to successfully keep this woman alive, but there are costs to everything. Added to that , Clay discovers the planned assassination of the new European bureau chief branch of the C.I.A.. This is obvious to Clay that the assassin is someone within the agency. How can he possibly achieve both goals.

The Right Hand is an enthralling page turner with action/adventure as well as time for personal friendships and relationships. The characters are well-described and authentic with their choices and actions. The story is logical and organized in this gripping tale. Definitely the strength of this novel is the character of Austin Clay as a James Bond like character, who has the courage and wisdom to do the right thing in this riveting tale.

Derek Hass has co-written three books and has also published the novels, The Assassin Trilogy: The Silver Bear, Columbus, and Dark Men.

For a fast-paced riveting tale of adventure, The Right Hand by Derek Haas is definitely the “right” choice.