Jim Brodie has never been one to let the slightest offense go unanswered, and his loyalty to friends is steadfast. Dealing in antique Japanese art is Brodie's preferred occupation, but his training as a PI and in the martial arts means he can handle the investigation when two close friends are murdered at the theater where he has just introduced them. One of the victims, Sharon, had personal ties to the First Lady of the United States, who wants to hire Brodie to assist with her personal inquiries. Brodie is reluctant, since he prefers to work alone without any interference. But he finds himself making an exception for this clever and sincere lady. Of course, he's not the only one determined to find the killer and the reason behind the murders. And they all want Brodie off the case, permanently.

Homeland Security insists on handling everything themselves in the investigation and is furious that Brodie is part of the inquiry. If keeping away from them isn't enough stress, Brodie has to deal with Zhou, a treacherous Chinese master spy who shows up suddenly. Did Homeland Security's involvement in the case draw the Chinese, or did the China connection pique Homeland's interest, or is it something else that's attracted them both?

In Japan for Sharon's funeral, Brodie is shocked when a Tokyo gang with ties to North Korea kidnap her daughter, Anna, from the ceremony. Now the motive for Sharon's murder becomes clear to Brodie...it was to flush out Anna, the key to the entire operation. As Brodie desperately seeks Anna's location and traces her abductors' path, his life is in peril as two malicious factions are tailing him. To stop Brodie, Zhou and the Chinese abduct him. Now, he is isolated and alone at the end of the world with no one to rescue him. And no one to rescue Anna before it's too late...not only for her, but also for the world.

Barry Lancet's THE SPY ACROSS THE TABLE is the fourth book in his outstanding Jim Brodie thriller series. The spot-on relevance of this book's plot concerning China, North Korea and cyber security made it even more thought-provoking to read. As always, Lancet is skillful with realistic characterization and vivid action scenes, as well as a few fairly gruesome torture scenes that left me gasping for breath, along with Brodie. Each book in this phenomenal series is interesting, thought provoking to read. As always, Lancet is skillful with realistic characterization and vivid action scenes, as well as a few fairly gruesome torture scenes that left me gasping for breath, along with Brodie. Each book in this phenomenal series is interesting, thought-provoking and educational, which, I believe, makes them some of the best thrillers in the genre.

Book Summary

In this exciting international thriller featuring Japanese antiques art dealer and PI Jim Brodie, a double- murder at the Kennedy Center forces Brodie into a dangerous game of espionage—putting him in the crosshairs of the Chinese, North Korean, and American governments.

Jim Brodie is an antiques dealer, Japan expert, and second-generation private investigator. When two theater friends are murdered backstage at a Kennedy Center performance in Washington, DC, he’s devastated—and determined to hunt down the killer. He’s not the only one.

After the attack, Brodie is summoned to the White House. The First Lady was the college roommate of one of the victims, and she enlists Brodie—off the books—to use his Japanese connections to track down the assassin. Homeland Security head Tom Swelley is furious that the White House is meddling and wants Brodie off the case. Why? For the same reason a master Chinese spy known only as Zhou, one of the most dangerous men alive, appears on the scene: Those murders were no random act of violence.

Brodie flies to Tokyo to attend the second of two funerals, when his friend’s daughter Anna is kidnapped during the ceremony. It is then Brodie realizes that the murders were simply bait to draw her out of hiding. Anna, it seems, is the key architect of a top-secret NSA program that gathers the personal secrets of America’s most influential leaders. Secrets so damaging that North Korea and China will stop at nothing to get them.

Publishers Weekly said, “Readers will want to see more of the talented Jim Brodie,” and The Spy Across the Table is an edge-of-your-seat thriller in Barry Lancet’s wildly popular and highly acclaimed series.