THE SIGMA PROTOCOL

Published posthumously, this is one of Ludlum's best. Once again we have an intricately woven conspiracy plot, which reveals a legacy of corporate double-dealing. In this tale of a financial cabal--a collaboration of the Nazis and some of the best-known names in financial circles--Ludlum disabuses us of the myth of Allied innocence during WWII. Paul Michael is more than up to the frenetic pace of the plot. He turns in a stellar performance of all the characters, especially of Ben Hartman, the hapless businessman whose naïveté is challenged when he meets a former friend on the street, prepares to shake his hand, and notices a gun pointed directly at himself. So begins this international thrill ride, with twists and turns continuing to the last. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 02]