Many years back I read “The Numbered Account” by Christopher Reich. It was fast paced and an unputdownable book. Then I read “The First Billion”. For some reason I just didnt pick up any of Christopher Reich’s books on Kindle. When “Matterhorn” came up on Kindle Unlimited, I immediately downloaded it.
The author’s name felt familiar and the style of writing was familiar too ….
Matterhorn – Summary
The book starts somewhere on the mountain named Matterhorn. Will Dekker, a CIA agent is meeting with Marina Zhukova, a Russian spy. They talk about a secret operation code named “Hercules”. Just as the reader understands that Will and Marina are lovers and that they have a daughter, dawn breaks and a helicopter comes up suddenly. There is gunfire and Marina is shot. She falls off the cliff.
Will has received the details of Hercules and before giving up the USB drive, he comes face to face with Ilya Ivashka a former friend turned enemy. Will jumps to his death rather than give up the USB drive that contains all the details of the secret operation “Hercules”.
Meet Robbie Steinhardt, who works in a dairy farm in the village of Zinal. He is an old man who maintains a low profile and is a stickler for routine. When he sees the news of Will Dekker’s death, the reader realises that Robbie Steinhardt is not a simple dairy worker ! He is Mac Dekker, Will’s father and a celebrated covert operative himself, who is hiding in plain sight at Zinal after faking his own death.
Will’s death forces Mac Dekker to re-enter his old life and we get a glimpse of the formidable covert operative that he was…. Ilya Ivashka is a former “close” friend of Mac’s who betrays his country and his friends by defecting to Russia. Ilya is desperate to get his hands on the USB drive that Marina handed over to Will. Mac has to make sure that Ilya doesnt succeed, even as he resurfaces and the CIA gets alerted.
In the process of trying to get data off Will’s cellphone, Mac is reunited with his ex-lover Ava Attal who is an Israeli intelligence officer. They manage to get crucial information from Will’s phone but Ilya is closing in.
The final drama is played out on the Matterhorn… and Mac is also reunited with his daughter.
Its a gripping tale that has been narrated beautifully. Please do read the book, especially if you like thrillers. The way Matterhorn is described, you can almost feel the icy wind against your cheek !!
Now I will find the other titles of Mr. Reich and start reading them. He seems to have been busy writing many books.
My rating – 5/5.
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