Corte (no first name) is the bodyguard (shepherd) who works for a nondescript branch of our government with no acronym (imagine that). Corte wants to provide his principals with as little information as possible about himself, which he thinks allows him to provide protection more efficiently. Along the way, however, he does indeed reveal bits and pieces of his personal life.  

Henry Loving is the lifter, an individual hired to extract information from the principal using torture (in his case sandpaper and alcohol, ouch!). Henry Loving was implicated in the murder of Corte's mentor and presumed dead until it was discovered that he was involved in another security case.  

 As Edge begins, Corte and his boss, Adam Ellis, are asked by the US Attorney's Office to provide security for Detective Ryan Kessler who works financial cases in the D.C. area. There is information that suggests Kessler is soon to be apprehended by Loving for unknown reasons.

Corte proceeds in his usual intellectual manner both protecting Kessler and his family (wife, sister-in-law and daughter), and trying to discover which cases Kessler was working that could be the reason for the attempted abduction and interrogation. Was it the forged check of an employee at the Pentagon or the mini-Ponzi scheme? Once he knows the why, Corte can find out who the primary (Loving's employer) is.  

 Jeffery Deaver is the author of 27 novels. Although I have not read them all,  this is most certainly my personal favorite.  Edge is the ultimate battle of two intellectual gladiators: Corte the self-proclaimed game theory student and board game aficionado and Loving, his very capable nemesis and opponent who takes the game to a personal level.

Each combatant tries to outwit the other on a real-life chess board with humans as the moving pieces. Deaver's first person narrative is filled with plot twists and turns and intriguing character development that will leave you hanging (dare I say on the edge) until the very last page. Hopefully, this is the first in a new series for Jeffery Deaver.

--Jerry Solot