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Description:
When Special Envoy Toshio Hatanaka's body is found in a basement room of the United Nations headquarters a few days before a crucial General Assembly vote on admitting Japan to the Security Council, Sam Windrush, first deputy for UN Legal Affairs, is assigned to investigate what looks suspiciously like a homicide. Sam and Toshio have a special bond, forged when the envoy attempted to rescue Sam's late wife from the hands of Afghan tribesmen who attacked a refugee camp on the Pakistan border where she was part of a medical relief team. Toshio's death was particularly convenient for the pro-Japan forces at the UN, since he was about to unmask a money-laundering scheme in which the Japanese ambassador may have been implicated. And Sam's boss, whose future depends on getting Japan on the council, is stonewalling the investigation, as is Sam's lover, a key member of the legal team at the United States mission. And there are others at the UN who will stop at nothing to keep Sam from uncovering the truth about Toshio's death--even framing Rachel, Sam's vulnerable 18-year-old daughter, for murder. Grant Sutherland's knowledge of the operational aspects of the United Nations bureaucracy as well as the intricacies of global diplomacy stand him in good stead here. Sam's inner conflict between loyalty to his deeply held values and to the mission he serves is clearly illuminated. Although the dramatic pacing leaves something to be desired, this somewhat dense but ultimately engrossing international thriller offers a perceptive take on a subject and organization that's usually ignored in the mystery genre. --Jane Adams
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