At the end of The Echelon Vendetta an agent assigned to London reveals the story of a French ship, Orpheus, secretly used to detain and interrogate hostages away from the sanctions of other countries.

The Orpheus Deception picks up where The Echelon Vendetta left off with Micah attending the funeral of a fellow agent in Venice and attempting to see former lover Cora Vasari when an attempt is made on his life by Branco Gospic, a Serbian crime boss who has vowed revenge against Micah. (Without reading the debut, you would have no idea of the backstory as it is not revealed initially in the sequel).

While Micah recovers, Gospic sends Kiki Lujac, the handsome jet-setting nephew of a Montenegrin duke to kill Micah in Singapore. Gospic also has his men hijack a tanker in the South China Sea and only one man survives. After Micah recovers, he and a fellow agent fly to Singapore to exchange three Chinese techs for the survivor. Gospic also appears to be in possession of a biological weapon he uses on his own colleagues. These disparate elements come together in Ludlum-esque style with complicated characters and a plot which comes at you from many different angles but which is quite neatly brought together at the conclusion of the book.

The Orpheus Deception is not a beach read. Given that many of the characters appeared in the debut novel, reading The Echelon Vendetta first may clarify some things. David Stone’s military and intelligence background is quite evident and places readers directly into the thought process of the characters. The Orpheus Deception is well written and the author has made improvements with chapter headings denoting where the action takes place. The title, The Orpheus Deception, is a bit puzzling since there is little in this sequel about the interrogation of captives on a secret ship.

--Jerry Solot