"Tense military thriller"

USAF Office of Special Investigations General Barnes hires former agent turned private security consultant Cleo North to accompany Major Jack Donovan on an investigation of the murder of an air force tanker pilot in England. As he briefs the two sleuths, Barnes warns North not to blow up anything as the brass is still reeling over the loss of millions of dollars worth of munitions when she blew up a cargo ship on her last mission.

Someone shot two bullets into the head of Captain Doug Caswell who had quite a dossier involving black marketeering, porn rings, and gambling though none stuck. The oddity of the homicide is the bullets come from a special stock made in 1939 and used by a Sergeant Gordon who along with his plane and a shipment of gold vanished in 1943. As the modern day case takes several out of control spins, the American detectives learn that the past offers something more sinister and deadly, a biological agent that strengthens with age.

The final tale in the exciting North trilogy (see THE FIRST MISTAKE and THE MIDDLE SIN) is a fast-paced action thriller that links a World War II unsolved event with a modern day mystery. The story line never slows down, but also furthers the relationship between the heroes who are in love but must concentrate on uncovering the culprit before a catastrophe occurs. Fans of military thrillers will appreciate Merline Lovelace's latest triumphant tale that once again proves why she is one of the sub-genre's ranking writers.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted July 4, 2005

Summary

The Last Deadly Bullet Former special agent Cleo North thought she had sworn off bureaucracy forever -- but the Air Force Office of Special Investigation has other ideas. They need her expertise and are willing to pay her extravagant fee. The case? An off- duty U.S. fighter pilot recently took a bullet under suspicious circumstances and wound up dead. It doesn't take long before Cleo and Major Jack Donovan from the OSI -- along with some help from British Intelligence -- discover the pilot was involved in some questionable activities. But why was he so interested in a U.S. Army Corps C-46 that went down in the English Channel in 1943? When another murder links a far-fetched story of wartime international intrigue to millions of dollars in gold, only one question remains: who is behind the ultimate cover-up? And could Cleo be the next bullet's victim?