A Murder of Crows

May 9, 2016
McCauley’s mildly diverting sequel to 2015’s Sympathy for the Devil continues the story of intelligence operative James Hicks, who works for the super-secret agency known as the University. The group was established by President Eisenhower to work under deep cover and supply intelligence to more well-known agencies. In the present day, Hicks’s capture of a Moroccan terrorist, Mehdi Bajjah, puts the University in danger of being exposed. He goes on the run from the Defense Intelligence Agency as well as the CIA and the NSA. The University’s primary piece of technology is their optimized mechanical and network integration (OMNI) protocol, which allows their operatives to eavesdrop on any phone in the world and hack into any computer anywhere. OMNI is so powerful that anytime a University player gets in trouble, good old OMNI is there to bail that person out, significantly lowering the suspense level. Bajjah’s confession leads Hicks along a convoluted path to the super-terrorist Jabbar and a lukewarm confrontation. Agent: Doug Grad, Doug Grad Literary.

May 15, 2016
A fast-moving spy-versus-spy thriller featuring the return of James Hicks (Sympathy for the Devil, 2015).In New York City, Hicks senses that he's being followed and confirms it through The University, the secret and unofficial organization he works for. He'd just captured a terrorist named Bajjah, or "The Moroccan," who had recently carried out the first biological attack against the United States. Bajjah had hoped to kill thousands with a "genetically engineered plague [that] would grow exponentially," but it worked too quickly and only killed the hosts. Now he's undergoing brutal interrogation by The University to identify his cohorts. The University's dean orders Hicks to "break the Moroccan and break him quickly." So Hicks promises the prisoner "a quick and painless death" if he cooperates, and the beaten-down Bajjah agrees. Hicks feels obligated to follow through, despite his later statement that "I tell lies for a living." While Bajjah bows during his sunrise prayers, Hicks shoots him in the back of the head. "I promised him the sunrise," Hicks says with nary a qualm. What a hero. Meanwhile, the Mossad wants Bajjah for their own interrogation and will be furious when they find out he's dead. The Barnyard, the dean's nickname for the CIA, is hunting Hicks even though they can't legally operate in the U.S. Someone there wants him dead, but his enemies' efforts to kill him work out poorly, thanks to help from a powerful University communications tool called OMNI. In the midst of all this action, the dean makes a dramatic revelation affecting Hicks in a big way. Incidentally, the title makes scant sense, because it bears no relation to the story other than conveying a sense of darkness--and murder. Not a bad read, especially for those who believe that anything goes when fighting terrorists. But it's interesting what some perceive as heroism.

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Starred review from June 1, 2016
The backstory supporting this exuberant thriller is, as they say, torn from today's headlines. A bioterrorist's plot to annihilate New York has been foiled by superspy James Hicks, who works for a government agency so secretive that the other spook shopsCIA, NSA, etc.know little about it. Their attempts to learn more about the terrorist and the man who caught him mean that much of the novel has spies spying on one another. It's a le Carre theme, and McCauley's homage to the master extends to names. Hicks' outfit is called the University; it's run by the Dean; and the workers are the Varsity. (Rival CIA is tagged the Barnyard.) This sly humor peeks out around all the fights and chases and stand-offsnormally Hicks enjoyed the sight of a naked woman giving him orders enhancing the drama, not undermining it. McCauley is also a wonderful dialogue writer. Readers may catch themselves paging back to enjoy the exchanges between spy and spy or spy and terrorist. This one really sparks.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)