Ben and his brother Alex have been estranged for eight years resulting from the decimation of their entire family. Sister Katie died tragically in a car accident (and Ben was blamed as he was directed to drive her home and did not), their dad by suicide, and then their mom to cancer. Ben is now in Istanbul working for the Joint Special Operations Command as an assassin. Ben's first assignment is to eliminate two Iranian scientists who are protected by VAVAK (the Iranian secret service). Ben exhibits his skills by completing the job successfully and without being seen.  

 Younger brother Alex took a more traditional route and went to Stanford Law School. Alex still lives in his childhood home and currently is the lawyer for Richard Hilzoy who created Obsidian, an encryption algorithm which will provide state of the art security software. Alex is convinced that this association will finally provide him with a partnership in the law firm he has so diligently worked for. Alex is mentored at the firm and with Obsidian by one of the partners, David Osborne.  

 When first Hilzoy is murdered outside his apartment and a substantial quantity of heroin found in his car and then Hank Shiffman, the patent agent for Obsiddian, dies of a mysterious heart attack, Alex becomes concerned. After his home is invaded and an attempt made on his life, Alex contacts big-brother Ben who protected him so very often in high school to come to his aid once again.

The two have many old emotional obstacles to overcome while evading further attempts of their lives and a new emotional obstacle, Sarah Hosseini, a first year associate in Alex's firm who was helping Ben with Obsidian. Sarah is an Iranian by birth who is simultaneously coveted for her intelligence and beauty and feared for her possible involvement.  

Fault Line flows smoothly, a very quick read. Eisler adds bits of  homespun philosophy such as "Lasts are imbued with a significance they had utterly lacked at the time"  when referring to the last time Ben saw Katie. Some readers may be disturbed with the many political commentaries, although at least both sides are represented by the brothers Treven. While lacking some of the mystique of the John Rain series, Fault Line will appeal to both those who have read the previous Eisler novels and newcomers alike.

--Jerry Solot