Paul Hollis

In 1975, when Zita, an M16 British operative, escapes a sniper attack that murders her secret mole contact, a Russian member of the Central Committee, but finds herself trapped and in hiding behind the Cold War borders in Prague, Czechoslovakia, her boyfriend, a young CIA analyst she has nicknamed Doc, recklessly breaks across a border crossing to find her and bring her back safely to the West. His actions add him as a target for the sniper and Russian forces, but when he finally finds his way to Zita, they discover that the reason they are targeted is to protect a more dangerous plot to disrupt current world order, a plot they realize that they must stop. This is the third book in the Hollow Man series, whose hero protagonist remains anonymous to readers as he thrillingly relates his experiences in dangerous spy action thrills. The story is tightly balanced in keeping the reader intensely embracing the tense thrills and actions. However, if this is the first book in the series that a reader checks out, or if it has been some time since a reader has enjoyed either or both of the first two books, the story may confuse the reader as the year and time period does not appear until about a quarter of the way within the story. My reading of Russian soldiers near Ukrainian borders within the first few chapters kept bringing up feelings and confusion with the current Russian incursion into Ukraine. Still, the thrills and suspense kept me enthralled to the end.… (altro)

A CIA newbie analyst is in 1974 England, hoping to find time with his new girlfriend, Zita, an MI6 agent, when he barely escapes a pub bombing that happens to kill an MP and some members of his family. As luck would have it, he later inadvertently interferes with an attempted kidnapping of a royal princess, but his witnessed appearance at these two events puts him on the wanted suspect list at New Scotland Yard, while his CIA handler wants him to secretly track down the hit list behind this string of terrorist actions possibly connected to the IRA. He and his girlfriend seek to discover the person and motive behind this devious plan and stop its ultimate goal, while trying to stay a step ahead of the investigators seeking them. This is a uniquely structured spy thriller, the second in a series that is more grounded with low-level secret research, undercover disguise operation, and basic hand or weapon action, than high level James Bond style thrills. The story switches from third person to first person perspective as our CIA analyst unveils his personal actions to find a resolution, while the reader also sees the challenges he is about to face. There were action moments which felt a bit forced in order to up the danger, but for the most part the action, thrills, and mystery were enough to amp up any avid action reader.… (altro)

In December 1973 in Madrid, Spain, a young NSA agent is attempting to track down on his own information on an unknown one-named terrorist assassin responsible for an earlier embassy attack, when his superiors demand he change his mission and follow the new Spanish prime minister, recently appointed by the Spanish dictator Generalissimo Franco. Our NSA agent is haunted by dreams of a young girl who died in the embassy attack and is not pleased by this distraction, but an explosive assassination winds up crossing his path with his antagonist, drawing crosshairs back toward him. As our agent escapes attempts on his life, connects and partners with a fellow MI6 female agent, and tracks down clues about his nemesis’ plans, he uncovers a plot threatening the entire European economy. Deftly told mainly from the deep mental perspective of the novel’s hero, whom readers only learn his nickname of Doc halfway through the story, the author masterfully creates a thrilling historical suspense thriller. It is, in essence, a slightly hyped-up spy thriller without the gadgetry, only disguises on the fly, guns and knives weaponry, and simple C4 explosives. I felt more engrossed in the story with an unnamed hero dealing without the super-training of a Jason Bourne or the super-gadgetry of a James Bond that fit well within the mid-70’s time frame.… (altro)