Agent of Influence

by David Aaron

Book Overview

Written by the author of "State Scarlet", this thriller is set in Washington, Moscow and Wall Street. A media conglomerate has been targeted for takeover but the more Lyman learns, the more shady the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 039913378X
• ISBN13: 9780399133787
• Release Date: February 1989
• Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.

Customer Reviews

As good as Ludlum - highly paced and a clever plot

I bought the book because it was the first one under the category "Crime/Thrillers" in my bookstore... and wasn't I surprised! This book is packed with suspense! I found the plot highly detailed and plausible. It's also a bit different from many novels in the same genré: In the financial world of media giants of the US and Europe, a major takeover is planned by a French magnate, who contracts a successful Wall Street dealmaker to set the deal up - but (of course) everything is not what it seems to be, and the consequences of it all could change the power balance of the world forever. Who can our hero trust - his employer or the US Intelligence Services? And why do people with critical information die along the path his work is leading him? It's really obvious to compare this book to Ludlum's work. When you think you've got the plot all worked out, there's some little ingredient added to it, and it leaves you with that lovely "got-to-find-out-what-happens-in-the-next-chapter" feeling (I finished the book in two days). Aaron also uses the same technique to tell his story as Ludlum - the book is really based on dialogue. Furthermore, you can't help to recognize the same kind of sutle comedy you'll find in Ludlum's "The Road to Gandolfo" - I found parts of "Agent of Influence" simply hilarious! I guess it's the way the dialogue is written and how our hero is propelled into stuff he just can't believe is happening to him. So - like Chicago Tribune's review says - "For all those Robert Ludlum fans growing a little weary of the sameness of his plots, consider David Aaron"