Downfall

The third book in Jeff Abbott's Sam Capra series is entitled Downfall and picks up just a short while after the second book The Last Minute ended. Sam had just risked his life dealing with an international criminal ring all in an effort is get his kidnapped son back. He had made an alliance with another covert group whose mission seemed to be about helping people. With support from this group called The Round Table, he eventually found his son and hoped to leave the world of slavers, arms smugglers, drug dealers, and illicit power brokers behind. The leadership of The Round Table made him a deal at the end of his quest. They would give him ownership of bars that they controlled around the world and he would manage these bars, working to turn a profit. In exchange, every so often they would ask him to assist in one of their operations, using his unique set of skills as an ex-CIA undercover operative.

Downfall starts when a woman comes into one of Sam's bars with two pursuers on her tail. She asks Sam to help her, which he does without question. At the end of the night, the lady is gone and one of her attackers, a Russian ex-Special Ops agent, lies dead on the floor of the bar and Sam has escaped death yet again. This is just the beginning of the end of the short peace that Sam had begun to lay claim to, a peace that included raising his son away from danger, away from deadly risk, away from always having to look over his shoulder. It turns out the lady is running from a clandestine group who controls her mother. A group whose members have each been given significant assistance that allowed them to reach the pinnacle of their fields. In return, they must unquestioningly submit to do whatever the group's leadership asks of them to bring about the downfall of others.

In one short night, Sam is unexpectedly pulled back into the life that he thought he had left behind. Given everything that has happened to him, he can never be sure which encounters are random and unrelated to him, and which are carefully orchestrated by his enemies. Ultimately, it seems that there is nobody who can be trusted to be who they claim to be. Fear is a greater motivater than duty, than honor, than past relationships. Sam must rely on his instincts, his sense of right and wrong, and the greater good to survive. When money, power, privilege, and position are offered, who can say no? A thrilling and fast-paced adventure. The next chapter of the adventure, set for release in July, is called Inside Man.