The Operative

An ex-CIA agent hunts down a terrorist conspiracy in a thriller by the New York Times bestselling author who "may well give Tom Clancy a run for the money" (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). After more than a decade on the front lines of the war on terror, Ryan Kealey is finally putting danger behind him. But his calm is shattered by a merciless attack during a charity gala in downtown Baltimore. Among the dozens of casualties is the wife of CIA Deputy Director John Harper. With normal channels of investigation obstructed, Harper turns to Kealey, the one man with the resources, expertise-and freedom from government interference-to pursue the awful truth. Following a string of secrets and violence, Kealey blazes a trail from the innermost chambers of government to the dimmest reaches of the human psyche, forced to match wits with a new nemesis aided by new allies, each with a unique agenda. Slowly, Kealey unspools an unimaginable conspiracy that suggests America may truly be its own worst enemy.