Taskforce operators Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill are sitting out COVID-19 in Charleston, SC, when terrorist hunters Aaron and Shoshana arrive at their front door with a new mission for them. The former head of Israeli intelligence has been bloodily dispatched in Switzerland; an Iraq-based, Iranian-funded militia group claims responsibility for this and other deaths; and our Taskforcers must determine who is really behind the violence.

Bestseller Taylor's entertaining if overstuffed 16th Pike Logan novel (after 2021's American Traitor) opens in Switzerland, where Shia militia member Mustafa is on a mission to kill former Mossad head Gideon Cohen. After Mustafa engineers a paragliding accident in which both he and Cohen die, the Mossad asks private contractors Aaron Bergman and his partner, the deadly, spooky Shoshana, to help figure out who was behind the hit. Bergman and Shoshana insist on bringing in their best friends, Taskforce operatives Pike and Pike's fiancée, Jennifer Cahill, as backup. Because of Covid, Americans can't travel internationally, so the Israelis have to issue Pike and Jennifer fake Israeli passports, which adds another layer of difficulty. In Rome, the pair follow a trail of bodies that leads to the head of security for the papal order of chivalry, the Knights of Malta--and to an ambitious scheme that threatens the entire world. There's plenty of action, but readers may tire of dealing with too many characters, too many plotlines, too much moralizing, and way too much detail. Hopefully, Taylor will dial it back next time. Agent: John Talbot, Talbot Fortune Agency. (Jan.)