Book Dragon is Reading - FaceOff, edited by David Baldacci

10. The Devil’s Bones [Cotton Malone vs. Gray Pierce] by Steve Berry vs. James Rollins

I liked that there had been allusions in the characters’ books previous to this story that they knew each other, so that it played out more like a reunion. Not so much fond of the proliferation of hyper-competent agents of US political will and the agencies that employ them, but one almost cannot get super-spies without some form of imperialist chauvinism, and I do like a good bit of super-spy action.

Also not liking: saving the Amazonian natives from murderous band of gun-toting villains; another plot of protect + capture Pandora’s flask of death (bioweapon in “Pit Stop”, deadly neurotoxin in this story), although perhaps I shouldn’t fault multiple stories in a collection like this for drawing on the same such trope; conveniently disposed source of super poison so no one has to worry about it showing up in a future story; surprisingly literal use of Chekhov’s Gun to save the day once the box is open.

And yet I liked this story overall and liked the heroes. I’m interested to read more of their adventures but suspect I might miss the way they played off each other here, in their own books.