Former US intelligence operative Kolya Petrov, struggling with the physical and psychological aftereffects of kidnapping and torture, is drawn back into the game when he learns that Dmitri, his childhood best friend, holds the key to stopping an attack by terrorists armed with a deadly nerve agent.
Working with Dmitri, however, is complicated. While their friendship had been forged during their years in an abusive Russian boys' home, the two men's lives took very different paths. Dmitri led the North American branch of a Russian gang until Kolya, working undercover, put him in prison.
Ten years later, Dmitri's cooperation is essential to finding the smuggler of the nerve agent, but he refuses to work with anyone but Kolya. Kolya reluctantly agrees to undertake one more mission, but to succeed, he must come to terms with the past.
Can he trust Dmitri not to take revenge for the betrayal of their friendship? Can he rely on his own judgment and abilities, despite a leg injury and ongoing PTSD, to survive an elaborate plot that threatens his life and that of his fiancée, as well as the lives of hundreds of innocent people?
Review :
"Thrillers are occasionally described [in some literary circles] as containing characters carved from cardboard. No such accusation can be aimed at Manning's Nerve Attack, for the author's characterisation is deft, brushstroke in style as they stand upright on the page and description kept vivid but concise so the propulsion of the story is not affected - instead it's actually enhanced. As a sophomore novel, Manning's follow-up to Trojan Horse, attacks the reader's nerves [pun intended] as they cling to the book as if their hands were nailed to the binding." ALI KARIM, Shots Magazine"Suspense propels Manning's espionage tale. Nearly every character is shifty and seemingly on the verge of a double-cross. Even the director of Russia's security agency is perpetually wary of Bykovsky despite the fact that they're brothers-in-law, especially since the president's good moods are as volatile as his bad ones. Action is minimal, but the colorful cast fuels the momentum. For example, as Kolya searches for potential terrorists in Russia, his fiancee keeps her head down in Vermont with a former Mossad agent at her side and villains inching closer. This novel further cements the series' arc; since Kolya's final ECA mission entailed torture in the preceding installment, he suffers PTSD months afterward.
A reluctant spy leads this taut, effective thriller." Kirkus Reviews
