Deceived

Rating:
Summary: Top-notch: almost too believable
Review: For anyone who enjoys a political thriller with an astonishingly timely plot line, I recommend Deceived heartily. It is certainly a step up from the typical novel of this sort. The characters are genuinely interesting instead of being your average cardboard cutouts, and the author's command of geopolitical realities is impressive. (In this latter respect, it bears comparison with Crichton's Rising Sun.)

Koeper's protagonist is an accountant who discovers billing discrepancies in his audit of a contract between a US engineering firm and the Chinese government -- a contract that is partly subsidized by tax dollars. The resulting chaos gives us not only a tightly-woven and believable plot (complete with an explosive and convincing conclusion) but also a window on the dark side of power politics inside the beltway. And woven unobtrusively through the novel like a dark thread is a broader point: China, the sleeping giant, is awakening, and its aims and purposes do not coincide with ours.

The book is not intended as a critique of the Clinton about the Cox Report or Chinese espionage. But for just that reason it's better than any thinly-veiled allegory could be. This is a case where a smart author saw the direction matters were taking before the headlines broke; it is just fortuitous timing that the book was published in May of 1999.

Grab a copy if you're the literate type.

Rating:
Summary: Swept Away by Dark Realism
Review: James Koeper's talent for creating characters caught between professional duties and personal ethical demands is powerful. Woven into an intricate but darkly realistic plot driven by conflicting national and personal political agendas, Koeper's readers intimately feel the drama of difficult decisions that need to be made, and seductive compromises that should not, and ultimately cannot, be made.

Mr. Koeper's signature combination of a clear-sighted but kind professional, caught in a complex thriller which is almost, but not quite, totally beyond his control, is conveyed in a clear writing style that any reader will enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: I thoroughly enjoyed this topical thriller!!
Review: With this book, Mr. Koeper again displays his special talents for creating multi-dimensional and thoroughly believable characters and intriguing story lines that keep you wanting more. Murder, intrigue and politics (international, national and office) all play a role in this topical thriller with characters worth caring about.

Having now read Mr. Koeper's first two books, I can't wait for the next one.