The Death Trust

As shocking as today's headlines... In this no-holds-barred thriller, David Rollins plunges readers deep into the heart of a terrifying conspiracy of absolute power at its absolute worst. *Who can you trust when those you’re taught to trust are perpetrating the ultimate act of betrayal?As evil as your worst fears...*For Special Investigator Major Vin Cooper, it begins with a sniper’s bullet that claims the life of a young G.I. on a routine patrol in Iraq. It’s an all-too-familiar tragedy, not a crime, until it’s linked to the bizarre death of a four-star general...who just happens to be the dead soldier’s father and the son-in-law of a powerful U.S. vice president. Cooper’s investigation will uncover a trail of “accidental” deaths that leads from the war-torn streets of Baghdad to sex slavery in Latvia to a celebrated political marriage that began in the White House Rose Garden. But as he pieces together the most shocking conspiracy in history, Cooper begins to wonder if his superiors really want him to uncover the truth...or become the next victim of the most murderous lie of all.From Publishers WeeklyAussie author Rollins's first novel is a fast-moving, funny thriller with a smart-aleck hero who faces death and worse with a quip on his lips. Military special investigator Maj. Vincent Cooper bounds around the world, dodging death while searching for the reason a four-star general and his son were murdered—a nifty bit of evil that goes all the way to the White House—and encounters grouchy Germans, ruthless and sexy Russians, world-weary Italians, stoned Canadians and, not surprisingly, heroic Australians. The accents, attitudes and genders pose no problem for Foster, who handles them with brisk efficiency. He understands that, with a yarn involving a protagonist who suffers beatings, bullets and broken bones, but keeps plugging away at a global conspiracy with more layers than an artichoke, to pause for an elaborate shift in accent is to risk close scrutiny of the story. Instead, with subtle vocal shifts he's able to set a breathless pace, keeping the listener on board the roller coaster until it comes to a complete, satisfying stop. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistRollins' first novel, published to deserved acclaim in Australia in 2005, begins with a one-two punch. In Iraq, a U.S. Army sergeant is gunned down by a sniper; not long after, in Germany, the sergeant's father is piloting a glider when the aircraft suddenly falls to pieces in midair. Was this a coincidence, or has someone targeted father and son? In charge of the case is Special Agent Vin Cooper, of the Office of Special Investigations—recently divorced and looking for something to distract him from the ruins of his personal life. The novel's story will be familiar to many readers (it involves a conspiracy at the White House), but Cooper is such an appealing narrator that seeing the story through his eyes is like seeing it afresh. Many thriller writers dive right into the action, but Rollins sneaks up on the story, takes it nice and slow, as though he is writing a police procedural rather than a thriller. Definitely a few cuts above most political-conspiracy yarns. Pitt, David