Radiant Sword

The High Court, an ultra secret coalition of the heads of several government agencies, is worried. It has heard of a new weapon called Radiant Sword, a super laser that is very close to being built that has the ability to completely erase satellites from the sky. They are desperate to know who is spending so much money to have such a thing built, and what their intentions are. The Chairman, fortunately, has come up with a diabolical plan. New technology has made it possible to record and edit a human's memory. Unfortunately, they can't just pick up the director of the project, Joanne McRae, and empty her mind of the information. Too many risks. But they can find a handsome man, and re-write his life so that he moves right down the road from her. A man with enough things in common, such as a love of playing chamber music, to make him incredibly attractive to the over worked scientist. The plan is simple, they'll become lovers, and she'll trust him, tell him things. Once in awhile, they'll pick him up and scan him for information, and he'll never even know that he is their spy. Clever. Except that they're not quite smart enough to make sure everything fits right and makes sense. For example, David D'Escoyne, their unwitting accomplice stands Jo up for a racquetball date. When they meet again the next Monday, he insists that he was in Chicago, she insists that he wasn't...this causes distrust to grow between them, despite their attraction for each other.

This book is a seamless balance between romance and adventure. Joanne is a strong female character, who is very focused on completing her project. She has a certain vulnerability despite her strengths that makes her very charming. David D'Escoyne makes an interesting match, because he thinks he's finally taken a sabbatical from work to write a book that will help people learn math more easily. Both are very smart, very into their music, and connect easily despite their reservations. The political manipulations in the background are cleverly done...one despises the High Court immediately because Boschen's intensely apt characterizations of the various members show the reader just how vile these people are. In some ways, it is an interesting look at how corrupt officials are willing to use people to get their ends, and the careless cruelty that people can have. Because of their cavalier attitude towards these people's lives, it makes it even more pleasurable to see Jo and David outwit them...even when they don't realize what they're doing. The whole point is that David is supposed to gather information about Jo's project, yet whenever she tries to talk about work, he doesn't care. He cares only about her.

Nearly perfect pacing and enough romance and adventure to keep the reader going. This book is definitely a fun read.

4 out of 5 trench coats
--Cindy Lynn Speer, GWN Book Reviewer