George—or Jürgen—Drechsler is new to the ranks of the ASIO field from serving on board Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Toowoomba as a young Naval Commanding Officer. Just two years ago having been crimping piracy and drug-trafficking under Operation MANITOU (Australia’s part in an international effort, called Combined Maritime Forces, to combat sea routes of terrorism-funding), today Drechsler seems the perfect choice to accompany ASIO’s best secret agent, Luthan Fennes, aka the ‘Retimer’, on a mission to investigate intel reports that a French magnate is planning to disrupt Western fuel security… Fuel security—along with several other top economic necessities—forms the lifeblood of the everyday functions on home soil of even the least wealthy of countries. It is the fuel, or more aptly the passage of this from oil-exporting countries, that keeps trucks delivering to industry, petrol stations and shops… Without it, society is soon halted. Australia stores but one week’s worth of fuel in preparation for any cessation of its major fuel supplies… And the magnate may be about to cause just that. But is he succeeding? And if so, who is helping him?
Positive Recommended review from Kirkus Reviews, and placement in the Kirkus Reviews magazine.
In Angliss' (Fight to the Edge of Earth Tonight, 2015, etc.) sixth book featuring Luthan Fennes, the Australian operative chases a terrorist targeting the oil industry.
Aboard the Duchy of Paris, Fennes, aka the Retimer, and agent-aide Vannier, both sporting aliases, are on a mission. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation has assigned the two to stop a terrorist attack on international fuel supplies. But it's clear their cover is blown when Vannier goes missing and his female companion turns up murdered. The ship docks in Hawaii, and Fennes sprints after suspects through Honolulu, narrowly escaping explosions and a baddie armed with a rocket launcher. A mastermind, meanwhile, whose henchmen are innocents under duress, may have his sights set on the Red Hill fuel facility, and the Retimer has very little time to thwart the strike. The author's latest in his ongoing series may be his most rousing yet, loaded with action scenes. In fact, once Fennes gets his feet on land, he rarely stops running and ultimately finds himself in a car chase as well as a boat chase (though he's still pursuing a car). As in previous outings, Fennes is a charismatic, formidable spy, but supporting characters have their times to shine, too. George "Jürgen" Drechsler, for example, Fennes' agent-aide replacement, snatches one of the baddies before even teaming up with the Retimer. Likewise, Chanty, initially nothing more than Fennes' "twenty-something blonde ephemeron" on the Duchy of Paris, is a woman for whom the protagonist eventually begins to develop genuine feelings. As in preceding books, Angliss doesn't shy away from 007 allusions, including Fennes' gadgets, like the wall-climbing claw-pitons. At least there are no shark-infested pools--only the piranha kind. Nevertheless, the Retimer is a spy with his own style. Who else but the ASIO agent could so eloquently separate his job from a personal life with Chanty: "Until the eclipse of love can outride the rivalry that is espionage, I have to decline, lest my line of work place you in advertent danger."
Fresh, invigorating, and appealing for returning fans and those just joining the series.
-- Kirkus Reviews
