RULES OF THE HUNT

Irish tough guy Hugo Fitzduane takes on a fierce Japanese group, the Yaibo, or the Cutting Edge, in this violent, fast-paced sequel to Games of the Hangman (1991). Having ended the career of the international terrorist known as the Hangman, former soldier and war photographer Fitzduane is pursued by the Yaibo, which is intent on avenging the Hangman's death. He's badly wounded and barely survives a sniper attack near his ancestral home on Fitzduane Island, and only the efforts of the anti-terrorist Irish Rangers save him from a second all-out attack while he lies in a hospital bed. The Yaibo assassins were dispatched by the Tokyo-based Namaka Corporation, headed by brothers Kei and Fumio, who clawed their way to the top through violence and intimidation in the years after WW II. The brothers are more concerned, however, with the vicious murder of the powerful, corrupt Kazuo Hodama, who had been their political patron. The ritual execution of Fitzduane's best friend in Paris by a beautiful Yaibo assassin known as the ``Lethal Angel'' precipitates two events: Fitzduane becomes romantically involved with nurse Kathleen Fleming, who suffered greatly during the hospital siege; and he finally goes on the offensive, joining the investigation into Hodama's murder in Tokyo in order to confront his enemies directly. This involves him with a comely woman with a secret of her own, security specialist Chifune Tanabu. The violence continues unabated, complicated by the activities of the head of the Korean yakuza, who is dedicated to bringing down the Namakas, and a dangerous CIA operative with a secret personal agenda, a man Fitzduane knows and despises from their time together in Vietnam. Before everything is settled, a befuddling maze of unexpected relationships and betrayals is exposed. Perhaps too convoluted for its own good, this page-turner should still enhance O'Reilly's place among contemporary thriller writers.