In BBC correspondent Brookes's much-praised debut thriller, Night Heron, journalist Philip Mangan is recruited by British intelligence as go-between when a Chinese labor camp prisoner escapes. In this follow-up, Mangan is hiding from Chinese agents when a terrorist attack in East Africa and an MI6 source's murder in Hong Kong force his hand.

Brookes's critically acclaimed Night Heron introduced journalist Philip Mangan, who became entangled in a British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) operation and barely made it out of China alive. Now a Chinese colonel appears on the scene, insisting on Mangan as his contact. The agent brings valuable information about the tangled, virtually invisible infighting among China's elite. Working with his British handler from SIS, Mangan is drawn back into a world of betrayal, risk, and disillusionment. VERDICT The East African and Hong Kong settings are intriguing and the shocking ending highlights how little room there is for loyalty or traditional values in the murky world of covert action. After a slow start, this novel picks up steam, and readers won't be able to put it down. [See Prepub Alert, 2/1/15.]—DK

Brookes's intricately plotted sequel to 2014's Night Heron finds Philip Mangan, foreign correspondent and part-time spy, in Ethiopia looking into a story about how the Chinese are influencing African politics. Shortly after he's almost killed in a cafe bombing, Mangan receives secret intelligence information from a Chinese traitor. When he turns this over to the U.K.'s Secret Intelligence Service, the SIS welcomes Mangan's help, and he's given new training and the job of running the valuable Chinese agent. At first the operation goes well, with Mangan getting info on a secret fighter aircraft and new laser weapons, but infighting among the leaders of the Chinese government, a flurry of double and triple crosses, and perfidy among those he considers friends lead to disaster. The not always convincing conflict between competing Chinese factions slows the action in places, but Brookes shows that his impressive debut was no fluke, and readers will look forward to Mangan's next adventure. Agent: Catherine Clarke, Felicity Bryan Associates. (July)