With Diplomatic Immunity, Grant Sutherland exploded onto the literary scene as one of the most original new authors of international suspense. Now, in his new novel of conspiracy, conscience, and terrifying deception--a novel stretching from the upheaval of the Gulf War to the inner secrets of the current Pentagon--a desperate man struggles to survive a battle for the truth...a battle without any rules except one: win or die. It wasn’t just a war we were fighting out there in the Gulf; the truth is we were joined in battle against the weapons of every major arms manufacturing country on earth--including our own. Captain Ned Rourke of the U.S. Rangers always expected war to be hell, but he never imagined that his men would be cut down in the Gulf War with weapons created by his own country. Disillusioned, betrayed, and looking for justice, he’s determined to find those responsible and make them pay the price. But to do so, he’ll have to work undercover as a marketing manager for Haplon Systems, an arms trader skirting the decrees of international law. Forced to live a double life, Rourke knows he is risking something more important than justice: the trust of his wife and son. And when his friend Dimitri Spandos, a former West Point classmate now working for Haplon’s biggest competitor, is discovered shot to death at an arms fair, Rourke knows that he’s entered a world as dangerous as any battlefield. Haplon’s latest deal--to ship a massive quantity of arms to an unnamed African country--is clearly worth killing for, but can Rourke discover who’s really behind it before his marriage is destroyed...and he ends up with a bullet in the head? The more Rourke learns, the closer he gets to a conspiracy reaching from the killing fields of West Africa to the upper echelons of the Pentagon, and a deadly cover-up that someone intended Dimitri Spandos to take to his grave. But Rourke is now fighting in a war where an ally can become an enemy in the blink of an eye, where no flags or uniforms mark sides--and where knowing the truth could be a sentence of death. If he and his family are going to survive, he’s going to have to throw away the rule book, put his principles aside, and prepare to get blood on his hands once again. From the Hardcover edition.From Publishers WeeklyA strong, cunning writer, Sutherland knows how to plant his characters in complex, threatening situations and then turn them loose as the action escalates. The United Nations was his backdrop in 2001's Diplomatic Immunity, and now he achieves similar results with a political thriller set in the world of arms trading. U.S. Ranger Capt. Ned Rourke was a career soldier through the Gulf War, until he received a serious wound in the Mogadishu debacle. His first civilian job was as an instructor at West Point (which he loathed); the next as sales director for a small, somewhat disreputable arms manufacturer called Haplon. Rourke's wife, Fiona, a geologist who hated his dangerous military life, isn't thrilled by this latest career move, and their son, Brad-a budding geologist-shares her distaste. But Rourke isn't really dealing weapons to developing nations: he and his former army buddy Dimitri are doing deep undercover work for the Defense Intelligence Agency, trying to stop the illegal traffic that caused some of their men in the Gulf to be killed by U.S.-made arms. When an operation called "Hawkeye" starts to go bad and Dimitri is killed, Rourke's double life becomes increasingly perilous. Trapped on a Ukrainian freighter ferrying Haplon arms to the very same war-torn African country where his son has just taken a job, Rourke and a tough female U.S. Customs agent are up to their ears in angst and high-level treachery. Sutherland's narrative engine is definitely a thing of beauty, though it drives some seriously melodramatic action. When the drama threatens to become overwrought, Rourke's touchy, touching relationship with his wife and son provides a needed anchor. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. From BooklistSutherland follows up his debut, Diplomatic Immunity (2001), with an equally absorbing thriller. It's the story of a U.S. Ranger captain, Ned Rourke, whose men were killed in the Gulf War by weapons manufactured in the U.S. but sold to the enemy. He vows revenge on the people who trade arms to the adversaries of the U.S., a decision that takes him into the darker regions of his country and into the darker side of himself. The novel begins with the familiar, Rambo-like premise--a single man takes on a multitude of villains and risks everything in the bargain--but Sutherland works enough variations on the theme to keep things interesting. Rourke, both hero and narrator, is a strong, likable fellow with a contradiction at the heart of his character: it is his deep moral center that compels him to contemplate committing some deeply immoral acts. Around that conflict, Sutherland explores the very thin line separating justice and vengeance. A solid, engaging thriller. David PittCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Ian is racked by guilt after his parents die in a house fire. He plunges himself into his work as a loss adjuster. But when his work involves him in a tragic death by fire, he is drawn into a deadly conspiracy which will bring back the terrors of the past in a way he could never have imagined.

A high-stakes thriller, set in the City of London.With his marriage on the rocks and the family-owned merchant bank threatened by a hostile take-over, life for Raef Carlton could hardly get any worse. But then Daniel Stewart, Raef's closest friend and Carltons' Treasurer, is found shot, and Raef's life plunges into freefall. 

Diplomatic immunity,n: freedom from arrest ... and submission to police regulations usually accorded by international law to diplomatic agents -- Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language From the most exciting writer of international thrillers since Robert Ludlum comes a riveting tale of intrigue that takes us right into the heart of the United Nations. Here conscience and loyalty will collide in one man's desperate race against time, when the clock starts ticking on page one and never lets up. Shock ripples through the UN at the stunning news: a special envoy has been found murdered in the basement.For Sam Windrush, a deputy in Legal Affairs, the death of his friend couldn't be more devastating. Years ago a personal tragedy bound the two men together, and now Sam is determined to find the killer -- despite intense pressure to abandon the investigation. The murder has cast uncertainty on the outcome of a high-stakes General Assembly vote, and the last thing UN officials want is more controversy. Suddenly Sam is up against roadblocks -- created by everyone from his supervisor and foreign ambassadors to his lover -- and everyone has an agenda to protect. The worst is yet to come. Sam uncovers too many disturbing coincidences: security cameras turned off for maintenance, a press corps member who knows too much, the suspicious activities of the victim himself, and a hushed-up review of a special committee. He has a score of suspects, but each one is protected by diplomatic immunity. Each one can escape justice. In less than a week UN officials will wrest the investigation away from Sam and hand it to the NYPD. In less than a week his fourteen-year career will be on the line. And as time runs out he will face an even greater threat. Someone has found a new suspect. A suspect not protected by diplomatic immunity. The only suspect Sam wants to eliminate but cannot. Taking readers behind the scenes of privilege and power to a place where the smallest actions affect the entire world,Diplomatic Immunityis a mesmerizing new thriller from an author whose name every suspense fan will need to know.