The Cabal by David Hagberg

In Hagberg's previous outing, The Expediter, an unseen force was behind the potentially catastrophic NKorea-China war. In The Cabel, Hagberg brings us and Kirk McGarvey face-to-face with the shadow group that makes the Corleone family look like refugees from Romper Room.

A Washington Post investigative reporter has uncovered information that an influential and ultra right wing group, The Friday Club, has been acting as a shadow government attempting to strengthen America's international position despite all attempts by the new ruling party in Washington to lesson the international position of the US. The reporter reaches out to a college buddy, Todd Van Buren who runs the infamous training 'Farm' for the CIA. Todd is married to CIA agent Liz who just happens to be Kirk McGarvey's daughter. After the meeting, Todd is gunned down south of Fredricksburg, VA on his way back to the farm and the reporter and family are murdered in their suburban DC townhouse that night.

McGarvey and wife are trying to live the quiet life of the recently retired on the Gulf Coast of Florida, but the loss of Todd brings them both to DC for the coming funeral. As one of the most decorated, successful, and efficient (meaning he kills quickly and effortlessly without remorse) operatives in the CIA's history, he rose to be the DCI for a time before getting out. The new 'progressive' President doesn't like McGarvey or his kind and based on the outcome of the adventure in The Expediter, has the AG investigate McGarvey for treason. McGarvey is being questioned when it's time for the funeral.

The assassins place an IED to kill McGarvey, but it goes off 1 car too soon. The outcome of that attempt sets McGarvey off on a trail of revenge and blind hatred starting with the security company hired by The Friday Club, Administrative Solutions. Knowing, without hard evidence, that Admin was behind the killings, McGarvey jets around and gets under the skin of the Admin founder and CEO. While virtually everyone has been told that they don't know what they are messing with in McGarvey, they go ahead and try to kill him a number of times, but as they really can't believe just how good McGarvey is, they continue to lose employees.

The final confrontation with the ridiculously right wing head of The Friday Club ends with McGarvey being arrested for treason, but all that has come out means that someone has to take out the trash.

As stated before, the McGarvey series by Hagberg is one terrific roller coaster ride. Hagberg brings all his political/techno thrillers along at the pace of a runaway train, never letting the plot slow down for the reader to catch a breath. This is what Tom Clancy used to be, but got caught up in excess research verbiage that resulted in bloated story lines and countless speaking parts. This is a bare bones thriller. McGarvey could have been the DCI for Clancy's Jack Ryan when he ended up as president. Or McGarvey could have been Mitch Rapp's teacher on the Farm, and he definitely has more moxie up his sleeve than Jack Bauer ever had. Don't plan on reading this 5-10 pages at a time. Once you start, better free up some time as there aren't logical stopping points until the last page . . . where of course, the first clue to the next book pops up. And, after all is said and done and the treason charges have been dropped, the President offers McGarvey his old DCI job back, to which he tells the President to stick his offer where the sun don't shine. Nice . . . vintage McGarvery . . . vintage Hagberg.

East Coast Don