Just as he played with history in 2006′s excellent thriller THE ASSASSINS GALLERY, author David L. Robbins does so again in THE BETRAYAL GAME. Although featuring the same protagonist – assassination specialist Prof. Mikhal Lammeck – the book leaves behind the world of Franklin D. Roosevelt for a far different world leader: Fidel Castro.
The plot of BETRAYAL is rooted in fact – namely, the American government’s string of botched attempts to kill the Communist leader of Cuba via bizarre methods, including poisoned cigars and contracting with the mob – and the annotations at the back reveal how little Robbins had to make up of the wild tale.
Despite Castro’s warnings to Americans, Lammeck is spending time in Cuba, ostensibly for research on a book, when his anonymity is shattered by the arrival of two men, each of whom approaches him separately. One is Johan, who works for Castro, and thus, naturally wonders just what kind of trouble Lammeck is up to. The professor answers nothing, and that’s true …
… until he meets Calendar, a CIA agent who places a vial of botulinum pills in Lammeck’s hands and gives him a choice: Either risk your life to get these in Castro’s bloodstream, or refuse and I have to kill you. Hey, it’s tough being tenured.
If BETRAYAL lacks the immediate tension of ASSASSINS, it’s likely more the fault of the reader than Robbins, who again has crafted a tight plot that takes a “what if?” approach to an important event in history and makes it exciting. But Cuban history doesn’t interest me nearly as much as American history, so it took some warming-up time on my part.
Glad I gave it that time, however, because the introduction of a pair of characters to help Lammeck kill Castro gives way to a wallop of a plot twist that may knock you on your ass, and even more so after you read the actual history behind it. –Rod Lott
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• THE ASSASSINS GALLERY by David L. Robbins
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- The Assassins Gallery
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