Publisher Description

"Vail is in the mold of Lee Child's Jack Reacher and Robert Crais's Joe Pike....This guy has movie written all over him." --Chicago Sun-TimesIn the pulse-pounding follow-up to the explosive debut thriller The Bricklayer -- now a major motion picture starring Nina Dobrev and Aaron Eckhart -- former FBI agent Steve Vail hunts down an elusive Russian Spy.Ex-FBI Steve Vail is looking forward to a well-earned and romantic New Years Eve in Washington, DC, when he quickly finds himself knee-deep in a very complicated and unusual case.A man known simply as Calculus has approached the FBI claiming he has a list naming several Americans who are supplying confidential government information to the Russian secret service. All he asks in exchange for the list is a quarter of a million dollars for each traitor the FBI nabs. But then Calculus informs the FBI that he's been recalled to Moscow, and the Bureau suspects the worst: the Russians are onto him, probably have access to his list, and will be after the traitors unless the FBI can find them first.The FBI knows they have to stay one step ahead of the Russians, and, without knowing exactly who is on the list, keep the operation quiet. Once again, Vail is their man. He's the perfect guy for this kind of under-the-radar investigation. But finding Calculus and his list of turncoats isn't going to be easy. In fact, it's going to be downright deadly."We have a new American hero in Steve Vail." --Patricia Cornwell

Back Cover

An officer at the Russian embassy--a man known as Calculus--has approached the FBI offering to sell a list of Americans who are giving confidential information to the Russian SVR. But before a deal can be made, Calculus is recalled to Moscow, and the Bureau fears the Russians will be hunting down and killing the traitors unless the FBI can find them first. FBI agent-turned-bricklayer Steve Vail thought he was done with the agency, but the Bureau has another unsolvable problem, and it has Vail's name written all over it. Finding the hidden turncoats, however, won't be easy--in fact, it could be downright deadly. And even with the help of FBI Assistant Director Kate Bannon, the Bricklayer's going to have to come up with a few new tricks of his own if he hopes to survive. Agent X: a white-knuckled thrill ride that crackles with an electric authenticity only a writer who's a real-life FBI veteran can provide.

Author Biography

Noah Boyd is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Bricklayer and a former FBI agent who spent more than twenty years working some of the Bureau's toughest investigations, including the Green River Killer case and the Highland Park Strangler case (which he's credited with solving). He currently works on cold cases when he's not writing. He lives in New England.

Review Quote

'There's a new hero on the bookshelf. Imagine Lee Child's Jack Reacher as a disgruntled ex-FBI agent who makes ends meet by laying bricks.... Steve Vail is a terrific new addition to the crime shift with a Sherlock Holmes perspective mixed with killer elite.... But what really sells The Bricklayer is Boyd's inside perspective. The bureaucratic posturing, the under-appreciated heroes and the mind-set of evil are razor sharp in Boyd's unflinching prose.... You'll want to slide The Bricklayer in alongside Lee Child's Jack Reacher series.' (The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS))

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