THE ELIAS CONSPIRACY

A former government killer engages in an extended international duel with a rising female mercenary.

Caspian Anderson has gone from being an efficient contract assassin, code name Elias, for the top-secret U.S. government agency Onyx to accepting a less homicidal gig with the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Strategic Support Unit under the direction of Samantha Ranger—and from suspecting his inamorata, German agent Liesel Bergmann, of planning to murder him to adoring her. By the time the reader is reintroduced to Caspian and Liesel on their sleek boat off the coast of Mallorca, several sketchy characters have already appeared, likewise at sea near Venezuela and Aruba. Caspian’s third adventure, following The Elias Enigma (2025), features an enormous number of lowlifes mostly distinguishable by their colorful names, and maintains tension and pace by ricocheting among locations in short, punchy chapters, many of which end in cliffhangers. Caspian is again the target of assassins. The situation is complicated by the surprising arrival of Liesel’s sister, Sofie, who’s been presumed dead. Sofie warns the duo of imminent danger and tells a tangled story about the global humanitarian organization Hearts United. She’s clearly not to be trusted. The cast teems with vamps: Most threatening are Mia Hernandez and Verena Kaine, a pair of literal femmes fatales. What Gervais lacks in character development he makes up for in action and twists. The rhythm of his prose is nearly metronomic. The finale clearly heralds more Caspian capers to come.

A high-speed thriller chockablock with face-offs, duplicity, and villains.