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THE DOLL'S HOUSE by Evelyn Anthony

THE DOLL'S HOUSE

by Evelyn Anthony

Pub Date: Aug. 3rd, 1992
ISBN: 0-06-017981-3
Publisher: HarperCollins

Again, Anthony (The Relic, 1991, etc. etc.) melds romantic suspense and espionage thrills for a spirited diversion—this time involving a love affair that bobs crazily around a plot to rub out an Arab prince. Rosa Bennett, 30-ish, has just been dumped by a whiny husband who, among other things, did not approve of her burgeoning career in the Foreign Office. Meanwhile, there's been another dumping of the loyal and devoted—in this case, that of the brilliant English ex-spy Harry Oakham, 52, who boils with resentment at the farewell pat-on-the-back and the tiny pension. And so Harry—who has counterparts who've labored for their respective governments, which are also not sufficiently grateful for services rendered—decides to utilize his deadly skills and set up his own operation. He begins by establishing a base-camp at a lovely old hotel in the country, the ``Doll's House Manor.'' To the hotel arrive: his dear and cherished Polish friend Jan, whom Harry once rehabilitated after Jan suffered near-fatal torture; a German sadist, expert in ``interrogation''; a Russian tactician; a Jewish terrorist; a beautiful killer, blond and lethal; and subsidiary hoods. Their first lucrative job is to assassinate a Saudi prince in his London digs. As the project hums along, into the hotel also comes Rosa- -recruited on her first spy mission to check on Harry. They fall in love, of course, mightily and heavily. Then, during a night and day of their lovemaking idyll, a car loaded with super killers is on its way to a London hotel.... Seamlessly styled entertainment—with tight action and a wry, ironic close.