TIME TO HUNT

A maverick agent battles duplicity on all sides in a personal rescue mission.

In Istanbul, American Charlie Henican is seized by half a dozen men who call him an assassin. Twelve hours later, CIA deputy director Dorothy Triggs strategizes in the Bahamas with Max Oswald, her son and “right-hand man” about ways to convince Pierce Hunt to rescue Henican, his close friend. Hunt is vacationing there with his lover, Anna Garcia, who has shut down the Garcia crime syndicate, to which she’s the heiress. Though Hunt now works for the Drug Enforcement Administration, Triggs is confident that his history with Henican in Gaza will secure his involvement. Her attempt to convince Hunt goes badly, and later Triggs and Max are ambushed and nearly killed. A video confirms that Henican is alive, held by a group called the Maroon Berets, who accuse him of trying to kill the president of Turkey. Triggs declares the rescue of Henican too sensitive for Hunt’s renegade style and, in a meeting at Langley, convinces him to instead accompany veteran agent Harriet Jacobs on a mission to take out Venezuelan strongman Jorge Ramirez, who’ll be in Switzerland. Ramirez, meanwhile, is eager to align himself with the Maroon Berets and supplies them with intel on Venezuela’s new president, Col. Arteaga, whom the CIA has dubbed “Queen Bee.” Ramirez is surprised to learn that he’s to meet CIA operative Aram Diljen, a possible mole. Concealed at the meeting, Hunt and Jacobs receive an order at the last minute to kill Diljen instead. Who can the righteous Hunt trust?

Despite some plot holes and cardboard characters, an action-packed thrill ride with plot twists around nearly every curve.