ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 10, 1996 TAG: 9603110129
SECTION: BOOKS PAGE: F-4 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: BOOK REVIEW
BEHIND THE LINES.
By W.E.B. Griffin. Putnam. $23.95.
For Griffin fans, the seventh book of the Corps series has finally made the bookstores. Go buy it - you know you will like it.
Griffin is the author of three successful series: the Brother of War series; the Badge of Honor series; the Corps series. His interest in intelligence pervades all three.
The successful guerrilla activity in the Philippines provides the story in "Behind the Lines." All of the familiar characters are present, and the usual behind-the-scenes political intrigue offers an interesting counterpoint to the way a clandestine military exercise is mounted.
The history is accurate, the scotch is Old Grouse, and Griffin pleases again. Be happy he finishes a book every nine months. We only have to wait until November for another.
- LARRY SHIELD
BLACK EAGLES.
By Larry Collins. Dutton. $23.95.
It was with a great sense of anticipation that I started Larry Collins latest novel "Black Eagles," and I was not disappointed. This is a work of fiction, but it could so easily be the truth. From the headquarters of the CIA in Langley, Va., to the depths of Manuel Noriega's corrupt rule in Panama, the story moves along at a scintillating pace with a flair for high drama and political intrigue.
Collins' novel is a tale of two US government agencies that work against each other more often than they cooperate. Kevin Grady, a drug enforcement agent, meets Jack Lind of the CIA in Laos during the Vietnam War. From Lind, Grady learns that the CIA is prepared to sabotage DEA operations in order to curry favor with its so-called allies. After Vietnam, Lind is assigned to Central America where he recruits Noriega to the CIA payroll. Meanwhile, DEA officer Grady discovers that the CIA gun-running pilots are involved in ferrying cocaine into the States, and the CIA is guaranteeing the security of the whole operations. As crack cocaine floods the inner cities of America, Grady and Lind, both men of honor, become enemies in the deadly war between the DEA and the CIA.
Collins talked to top level sources at both agencies while researching this book. He also visited Langley and went to Central America to get firsthand information. This is espionage writing at its best. It certainly kept me enthralled while stranded at an airport during the recent snow.
- JILL BOWEN
Larry Shield raises horses and dogs in Franklin County.
Jill Bowen is a Blacksburg veterinarian.
LENGTH: Medium: 56 linesby CNB