Slingshot

May 20, 2013
At the start of Dunn's intelligent but convoluted third thriller featuring MI6 agent Will Cochrane (after 2012's Sentinel), rogue U.S. and Russian military leaders sign a secret pact in 1995 that could lead to a devastating attack on an enemy country, though the details of why and how remain vague. To ensure the lifelong silence of the signatories, conference leader Kurt Schreiber (a former Stasi official now working for Russia) has ordered a "deep-cover sleeper agent" (code name "Kronos") to kill anyone who talks about the plan ("Slingshot"). Fast-forward to the present, when Cochrane uncovers evidence of the documentâand an enormous multilateral effort to ensure it doesn't go public. Schreiber un-leashes Kronos to assassinate the whistleblower, while American, British, and Russian intelligence services engage in all manner of intrigue, double-crossing, and violence. Dunn, a former MI6 agent, clearly knows his tradecraft, but the secret plot is never credibly convincing and most characters never rise above stereotypes, particularly the evil mastermind Schreiber. Agent: Luigi Bonomi, Luigi Bonomi Associates (U.K.).