Lachlan Kite has spent years as a top agent for the covert intelligence unit known as BOX 88, which he has been heading up. Over the course of three books, Charles Cumming has produced some of the finest espionage fiction on the market, all with an ear to the ground on the important changes that are happening around the globe.

ICARUS 17 is the fourth and latest BOX 88 thriller. For the first time, the powers that be who Kite has been fighting to keep in check and out of commission for the last several years are taking the fight to him. They’re hitting him where it hurts the most by directing the attack on his own family.

"Charles Cumming continues to knock it out of the park with his terrific espionage stories told against the backdrop of the modern global landscape. I can only hope that he has many more BOX 88 tales up his sleeve."

The introduction provides both a great historical timeline of Kite and a much-needed index of characters. The book opens with a profound line: “America is in a death spiral!” Whether this is true or not is a matter of opinion or political preference, but it definitely plays a role in what Kite will endure throughout the course of this brutally realistic and relevant novel.

The Kites first must face a Middle Eastern assassin who, on a wild driving spree that finds him firing his weapon at several pedestrians and other drivers, eventually disembarks his vehicle to make his way on foot to their house. At the same time, Kite is meeting with his ex-girlfriend, Martha Raine, but must leave to be with his loved ones, who thankfully are unharmed.

Once Kite finally has the opportunity to reconnect with Martha, he learns why she was so insistent on seeing him. It has nothing to do with old-flame romantic sentiment. Rather, it’s a plea for help as her son, Max Radinsky, has disappeared and for over three weeks has lost touch with her and everyone he knows. The last Martha knew, he had left New York City, where he attends college, to spend time with his girlfriend, Yasmine, in Athens, Greece. Yasmine also has fallen off the map as she is not at her apartment or her job. Kite promises to do his best to help and reaches out to some of his BOX 88 contacts to do a full file work-up on Max and Yasmine so he is prepared. 

Kite and Martha eventually fly to Athens and conduct their own investigation after the U.S. State Department comes up empty. It turns out that Yasmine might not be her real name, and she may have alternate identities. This is quite alarming and makes their disappearances without a trace that much more frightening. 

The novel switches between the current timeline, with Kite looking for Max and Yasmine, and events of the recent past that find them being chased around the globe by some scary and deadly individuals. The hunt becomes that much more personal when one of Kite’s colleagues sees a photo of Max. His reaction to it increases the novel’s intensity and stress levels several notches and makes for a wild ride.

Charles Cumming continues to knock it out of the park with his terrific espionage stories told against the backdrop of the modern global landscape. I can only hope that he has many more BOX 88 tales up his sleeve.