The Venetian Judgment

by David Stone

Book Overview

Deception in the CIA, historical intrigue, and blood in the streets?Micah Dalton returns in the stunning new novel by the New York Times?bestselling author. W inter in Venice and a killing frost has... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399155732
• Release Date: April 2009
• Publisher: Putnam Adult
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.5" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Stone is a marvel

David Stone is my primary "cross the street" author. People who know me cross the street when they see me coming because I will probably begin and end the conversation by telling them about the new David Stone book, or his last one, or all of them. Instead of crossing the street, they should listen. Stone is the real deal. Even if that is not his real name. David Stone has three novels to his credit under that name --- THE ECHELON VENDETTA, THE ORPHEUS DECEPTION, and the newly released THE VENETIAN JUDGMENT --- and combined they would make one long, wild, 1,200-page book that would read as fast as a 20-page short story. They feature a CIA cleaner named Micah Dalton, who is not in the best graces of his agency due to a penchant that compels him to pursue a course of conduct that more often than not goes against orders but results in his usually getting the job done better than anyone else. While complete in itself, each volume also picks up immediately from where the last left off. So it is that THE VENETIAN JUDGMENT begins with Dalton in Venice pursuing a bloody vengeance against the Serbian gang of thugs who shot and grievously wounded his lover in THE ORPHEUS DECEPTION. Quickly finding himself to be persona non grata for turning the romantic city into his own personal killing field, Dalton is handed a golden opportunity to keep his hands busy and happy while possibly putting himself back into the good graces of his erstwhile employer. A small group of CIA employees known as the Glass Cutters specializes in decryption. While working on a top secret project that involves Deacon Cather, Dalton's erstwhile mentor, one of their London members is brutally murdered after being subjected to unspeakable tortures. Worse, photographic documentation of the act was emailed to her friends, family and employer. The killing appears to be the work of Kiki Lujac, an exotic fiend who had been left for dead by Dalton in a previous encounter. Accompanied by fellow agent Mandy Pownell, Dalton begins his quest by attempting to determine if Lujac is in fact deceased. Their inquiry kicks over a hornet's nest that results in Dalton and Pownell pursuing, and being pursued by, a shadowy group of murderers with ties to the former KGB. The ghost of Porter Naumann, Dalton's friend and Pownell's lover, is along for the ride as well, popping up at times opportune and otherwise, and dispensing advice to Dalton. An aside here: Stone handles the existence of this shade incredibly well. In lesser hands, the appearance of a ghost in the middle of a narrative would be silly; in Stone's capable hands, the occurrences are Shakespearean in quality. He even provides an almost-plausible explanation, made more so by the fact that the shade never appears to anyone else, including Pownell. What Naumann does not reveal, however, is that Lujac has managed to insinuate himself into the life of Briony Keating, another Glass Cutter. Keating, a very capable 62-year-old New York divorcee with

Another winner!

This is a hat trick for "David Stone." Waiting for the next to make it a four-bagger!

Real Espionage Thriller without the fluff!

David Stone has an advantage over other writers in his genre (Espionage/Thriller) in that he is using a `cover name' to protect his identity. The fact of the matter is, he was born into a military family and has served as both an intelligence officer and investigator for a state-level law enforcement agency. Therefore, the first-hand knowledge he brings to the table when creating a new novel is filled with such minute detail he has no choice but to keep his identity a secret. David Stone's `spy' novels are not filled with martinis, romance and fancy cars (like any James Bond novel) or over-done chase sequences (like any Jason Bourne novel). With the release of his 3rd novel - "The Venetian Judgment" - the reader is once again drawn deeply inside the modern spy game where being `burnt', `out of the cold' or in `deep cover' are realities his lead characters face on a daily basis. Not to mention regularly getting caught in the middle of national and international crises! "The Venetian Judgment" picks right up from where Stone left off with his previous novel, "The Orpheus Deception". Lead character and professional `cleaner' for the CIA, Micah Dalton, has been laying low in Venice after his involvement in a brutal battle with a Serbian gang in which his lover was shot. His job as a `cleaner' involves being sent on missions to clean up any messes made by other CIA operatives --- a job he does with quiet efficiency. When he is sent a strange box containing what appears to be a stainless-steel glass cutter, Micah recognizes the gift to be a sign that a defunct spy group known as the Glass Cutters were in danger. Micah proceeds to team up with a half-British/half-American associate, Mandy Pownall, who is called in to investigate the brutal murder of an elderly woman in London that was a former colleague of theirs --- and former member of the Glass Cutters. Stone's narrative does not only include the Stone/Pownall investigation but also focuses on another member of the Glass Cutters, Briony Keating, who is residing in a Hudson Valley country manor in upstate New York. She realizes she may be on the hit list of whatever group is hunting members of her former team and at the same time dealing with the sudden disappearance of her military son who may have been abducted by the Taliban while stationed in Eastern Europe. The identity of the rogue group that is hunting down the Glass Cutters may turn out to be an old enemy of the U.S. --- marking the start of a new Cold War. There may also be plant high up in the CIA working to undermine their mission and paint a negative image of the U.S in the global press. The action moves back and forth --- with Dalton's mission taking him from Venice to Santorini and eventually to Istanbul - in pursuit of an assassin they feel may be responsible for the brutal murders. The action is appropriate and not over-done here and the intelligence mining and terminology so intricate you really have to be on your to

exciting espionage thriller

In Venice, CIA "cleaner" Micah Dalton vows to kill the Serbian Mafioso who murdered his lover Cora Vasari. When an opportunity arises to assassinate one of the gangsters, Micah takes it as he focuses on Mirko Belajic, a peripheral player in the death of his beloved. In London the CIA brass fears a well placed mole has killed elderly Mildred Durant, an adviser to the NSA decryption Glass Cutters team. The agency knows of Micah's Cold War decoding experience and that the Soviets had going back to Stalin and probably still have an inside source. They draft Dalton to uncover the identity of the current traitor who killed Durant in her home. The third Dalton espionage thriller (see THE ECHELON VENDETTA and The Orpheus Deception) is an exciting action-packed tale from the opening sequence in Venice where the hero is cleaning up the Serbian mob that killed his beloved and takes off from there. The story line is fast-paced as Dalton and his CIA partner travel to Istanbul and Florida in search of the traitor. Although his partner is a stereotype of the sub-genre, fans will enjoy Dalton's latest tale, which contains an intriguing historical twist back to the FDR Administration. Harriet Klausner