PRIVATE WARS Tara Chace was once the most dangerous woman alive. And now that the international spy network thinks she’s as good as dead, she’s even more dangerous than ever. Only one thing could coax Tara back into the game: a chance to vindicate herself. The torture and execution of Dina Malikov has set off a cutthroat grab for power in strategically crucial Uzbekistan. Tara’s job is to slip into the country and extract Dina’s pro-Western husband and their young son before they are murdered—by his ruthless sister. But there are a couple of wild cards in the deck, including a missing mobile weapons system that can bring down a commercial airliner, not to mention powerful political careers. Now, as she vanishes into hostile territory with a man who may or may not be what he seems, Tara is going to find out that the war on terror is more terrifying than anyone knows. For in a battle where betrayal is a conventional weapon, loyalty is a weakness, and anyone—even a child—is a legitimate target: it’s every spy, every woman, for herself. Combine a thriller that defies every expectation with a heroine for whom nothing is out of bounds, and the result is Private Wars, a suspense novel so explosively realistic, it should be classified. (Book 2 in the Queen & Country series) * Shortlisted for the 2006 Best Thriller Barry Award * Rights Information Publisher: Bantam, hardcover (July 25, 2006) Bantam, mass market paperback (July 25, 2006) Territory: North American Rights Available: Translation Reviews: "[A] Swiss watch of a thriller, well-machined, precise, and inexorable." - Entertainment Weekly "Tara is often likened to a female James Bond (she can drink, sleep around and kill just like a man), but she's really more interesting than the comparison would suggest. These are well-researched, intriguingly complicated, exciting spy novels in the tradition of Adam Hall and his great series hero, Quiller." — Publishers Weekly "[T]he action bristles and Rucka's way with amoral characters continues to seduce: Chace chases, chills and somehow charms." — Kirkus Reviews "Rucka injects [Private Wars] with a hard contemporary edge and a heavy dose of sensuality that may prompt comparisons to the television series Alias--also featuring a young, sexy spy--but whereas Alias is slick fantasy, the Tara Chase novels are rough-and-tumble adventures that feel very real. Expect this series to stick around for quite a while." - David Pitt, Booklist "Try to stop reading this book, because it's damn near impossible...." — Sarah Weinman, Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind "Rucka gets things right, serving up a taut and exciting tale of spycraft and "wet work" that will appeal to anyone who thinks James Bond is too effete for modern sensibilities." — San Francisco Chronicle "Forget Lara Croft and that chick in 'Alias.' If you're looking for a really tough broad, seek out British super-spy Tara Chace!" — The Oregonian "[T]he excitement and tension is unrelenting. If there is an award for Best Thriller Writer Ever...Rucka is a strong candidate for the title." — ILoveAMysteryNewsletter.com Blurbs: Purchase at Amazon.com

PRIVATE WARS

Tara Chace was once the most dangerous woman alive. And now that the international spy network thinks she’s as good as dead, she’s even more dangerous than ever.

Only one thing could coax Tara back into the game: a chance to vindicate herself. The torture and execution of Dina Malikov has set off a cutthroat grab for power in strategically crucial Uzbekistan. Tara’s job is to slip into the country and extract Dina’s pro-Western husband and their young son before they are murdered—by his ruthless sister.

But there are a couple of wild cards in the deck, including a missing mobile weapons system that can bring down a commercial airliner, not to mention powerful political careers. Now, as she vanishes into hostile territory with a man who may or may not be what he seems, Tara is going to find out that the war on terror is more terrifying than anyone knows. For in a battle where betrayal is a conventional weapon, loyalty is a weakness, and anyone—even a child—is a legitimate target: it’s every spy, every woman, for herself.

Combine a thriller that defies every expectation with a heroine for whom nothing is out of bounds, and the result is Private Wars, a suspense novel so explosively realistic, it should be classified.

(Book 2 in the Queen & Country series)
* Shortlisted for the 2006 Best Thriller Barry Award *

Rights Information

Publisher: Bantam, hardcover (July 25, 2006)
Bantam, mass market paperback (July 25, 2006)

Territory: North American

Rights Available: Translation

Reviews:
"[A] Swiss watch of a thriller, well-machined, precise, and inexorable." - Entertainment Weekly

"Tara is often likened to a female James Bond (she can drink, sleep around and kill just like a man), but she's really more interesting than the comparison would suggest. These are well-researched, intriguingly complicated, exciting spy novels in the tradition of Adam Hall and his great series hero, Quiller." — Publishers Weekly

"[T]he action bristles and Rucka's way with amoral characters continues to seduce: Chace chases, chills and somehow charms." — Kirkus Reviews

"Rucka injects [Private Wars] with a hard contemporary edge and a heavy dose of sensuality that may prompt comparisons to the television series Alias--also featuring a young, sexy spy--but whereas Alias is slick fantasy, the Tara Chase novels are rough-and-tumble adventures that feel very real. Expect this series to stick around for quite a while." - David Pitt, Booklist

"Try to stop reading this book, because it's damn near impossible...." — Sarah Weinman, Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind

"Rucka gets things right, serving up a taut and exciting tale of spycraft and "wet work" that will appeal to anyone who thinks James Bond is too effete for modern sensibilities." — San Francisco Chronicle

"Forget Lara Croft and that chick in 'Alias.' If you're looking for a really tough broad, seek out British super-spy Tara Chace!" — The Oregonian

"[T]he excitement and tension is unrelenting. If there is an award for Best Thriller Writer Ever...Rucka is a strong candidate for the title." — ILoveAMysteryNewsletter.com

Blurbs:

Purchase at Amazon.com