content: I had just about given up on reading thrillers, as too many authors seem to luxuriate in getting inside the heads of sick serial killers and invest in really unnecessary levels of graphic violence and sex. Then this fell into my hands (almost literally, in a stack of old paperbacks in my apartment's laundry room). I'm glad it did, because - for once - this is a thriller with a good, clean style that doesn't insult the intelligence, and is well-paced and action-filled without pouring on the negativity. The villainy is well-balanced by passages of decency and characters you actually like. The hero has a moral compass. The prose might not be up there with Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett, but the flavor is there. I would gladly read more by this author.