Whistler's Angel

Publishers Weekly says: “A slick, darkly comic bad guy vs. Bad guy crime drama…an expertly choreographed death dance showcasing Maxim’s storytelling strengths: farce, blisteringly paced action, and memorably peculiar characters. At age 34, Adam Whistler wants out. But the service he performed for his government is not the kind they let you walk away from. To ensure his continued good health, Whistler has “borrowed” important documents from his boss, Felix Aubrey, a dangerous rogue and a very bad man to cross. But so is Adam Whistler, who learned the killing craft well under the tutelage of his father. Now, with a ticking time bomb on his hands, Whistler has been cast into a maelstrom of death and chaos. His continued existence may well depend on a group of assassins linked to the legendary Paul Bannerman, as well as his very own guardian angel. His gentle and beautiful lover, Claudia – clinically dead after being shot by Aubrey’s hired guns – has been sent back, she believes, by the storied “white light” to protect him. Whistler doubts it, of course, She does not. And she has the talents and powers to prove it.Amazon.com ReviewAdam Whistler can't remember how many people he's killed, but he's such a nice young man the reader isn't troubled by his murky past. Besides, the killings were legal, sort of. They were sanctioned by the federal drug czar and his minions, especially Adam's boss, Felix Aubrey, who turned the government's anti-drug forfeiture laws into a honey pot that sweetened his own bank account and those of his prominent friends, including many in the radical wing of the religious right. But as John R. Maxim's satirical mystery opens, Adam's fallen in love, and his deepening affair with Claudia, a young woman whose near-death experience convinced her she's been appointed his guardian angel, becomes the fulcrum of this taut, funny offshoot of Maxim's popular Bannerman series.Adam's father wants him to come into the family firm as a go-between lurking in the shadows of multinational business. But first he has to get Adam out from under his enemies, especially Aubrey, whose ledger (containing the records of his illegal search-and-seizure scam) Adam sequestered as insurance when he quit Aubrey's employ. The elder Whistler sends Adam and Claudia on a year-long sailing sabbatical to hide him from Aubrey's gang. But an assassination plot hatched by the Reconstructionists, a gang of religious zealots controlled by Aubrey, brings Adam and Claudia back into the eye of the storm. Adam has a couple of powerful weapons on his side: Claudia, who may not be an angel but definitely has acquired some heavenly powers since her brush with death, and the Bannerman operatives, whose skills and strategies will be familiar to Maxim's fans. The author's tongue is so firmly planted in his cheek that the satire may be lost on some readers, but they'll find plenty of action, superb pacing, and picaresque characters to keep them enthralled. --Jane AdamsFrom Publishers WeeklyExcept for himself and even he doesn't seem all that certain no one knows exactly how many people Adam Whistler has killed. Now, however, at age 34, Whistler, the star of Maxim's slick, darkly comic bad guy vs. bad guy crime drama, is tiring of all the contract hits. Besides, he thinks a lot of his victims are being killed so his employer, an obscure arm of the U.S. government, can seize their homes, boats, cars, etc. all under asset forfeiture laws meant for drug dealers. But it's not so easy to simply walk away from such jobs. Whistler's boss, Felix Aubry, isn't keen on having his operatives wandering around loose once they've gotten in so deep. Whistler leaves the business nonetheless, cruising the world in a boat with his beautiful girlfriend, Claudia, but he is uneasy with his new life. Claudia, however, has recently come through a near-death experience and seems to possess a sixth sense for danger: she assures Whistler that she's his guardian angel. In fact, she does save his life several times throughout their travels, yet when the pair sail from Antigua and dock in Hilton Head, the attacks get more serious, and Whistler has to fall back on his old killing ways. The extended finale, involving several players from the author's past books, is an expertly choreographed death dance showcasing Maxim's storytelling strengths: farce, blisteringly paced action and memorably peculiar characters. (Mar.) Forecast: Maxim (Mosaic; the Bannerman series), who's been writing top-grade thrillers for more than two decades, continues to be one of the form's best-kept secrets. He's in fine shape here, and word-of-mouth should attract more of the loyal readers he deserves. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.