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Summary
Summary
By Order of the President, the first novel in W.E.B. Griffin's crackling new Presidential Agent series, won immediate acclaim from critics and fans alike.
Charley Castillo works with the Department of Homeland Security, but more and more he is the man to whom the president turns when he needs an investigation done discreetly. And no situation demands discretion more than the one before them now.
An American diplomat's wife is kidnapped in Argentina, and her husband murdered before her eyes. Her children will be next, she is warned, if she doesn't tell them where her brother is-a brother, as it turns out, who may know quite a bit about the burgeoning UN/Iraq oil-for-food scandal. There is an awful lot of money flying around, and an awful lot of hands reaching out to grab it-and some of those hands don't mind shedding as much blood as it takes.
Brimming with rich characters, strong action, and cutting-edge drama, this is Griffin writing at the height of his powers.
Author Notes
W. E. B. Griffin is one of eight pseudonyms used by William E. Butterworth III, who was born in Newark, New Jersey on November 10, 1929. He enlisted in the U.S. Army as a private in 1946 and was assigned to the Army of Occupation in Germany. He left the service in 1947 but was recalled to active duty in 1951 because of the Korean War. After leaving the service for the second time, he remained in Korea as a combat correspondent. He was later appointed chief of the publications division of the Signal Aviation Test and Support Activity at the Army Aviation Center in Fort Rucker, Alabama. He received the Brigadier General Robert L. Dening Memorial Distinguished Service Award of the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association in 1991 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars News Media Award in 1999.
He wrote more than 200 books including the Brotherhood of War series, The Corps series, Badge of Honor series, Honor Bound series, Presidential Agent series, Men at War series, and A Clandestine Operations Novel series. Under his own name, he wrote 12 sequels in the 1970s to Richard Hooker's book M*A*S*H. His other pen names included Alex Baldwin, Webb Beech, and Walter E. Blake. He wrote over 20 books with his son William E. Butterworth IV. He received the Alabama Author's Award in 1982 from the Alabama Library Association. He died on February 12, 2019 at the age of 89.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Prolific Griffin brings back Delta Force Maj. Charley Castillo (last seen in 2004's By Order of the President) for a second outing in this fast-paced adventure. What begins with the kidnapping of an American diplomat's wife in Argentina soon escalates to murder with links to the international Iraqi oil-for-food scandal. This is Griffin's 36th novel and it is clear that he is writing at the top of his game as he manages to imbue this complex, timely thriller with plenty of action, steely-eyed heroes and ruthless villains. Dick Hill, no stranger to the thriller genre or Griffin's audiobooks, gives a solid, assured performance. He smoothly balances the book's numerous characters and accents with ease, and is able to keep the considerable expositional narrative simple and straightforward without ever lapsing into a monotonous reading. This is no easy feat given the intricacies of the book's story line, and its 18-hour running time. Hill is ably assisted by Brilliance's first-rate editing and production values, all of which combine to keep the story moving and the listener involved. Griffin has written a terrific story and hopefully it won't be the last to feature special ops agent Castillo. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover (Reviews, Nov. 7). (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Griffin's second novel in his Presidential Agent series is the best-selling author's thirty-sixth book. Delta Force Major Charley Castillo is the protagonist-hero; he works with the Department of Homeland Security. He is asked by the president to go to Buenos Aires, where the wife of the deputy chief has been kidnapped and her husband has been murdered, shot twice in the head as she was forced to watch. Terrorists threaten to kill her children if she doesn't tell them how to find her brother, who, it seems, may have knowledge about the UN-Iraqi oil-for-food scandal. The twists and turns here include the handling of a large amount of money--$16 million, to be exact--that a variety of people would like to get hold of, and the storyline is peppered with forged passports, special agents, and never-ending cell-phone calls. The convoluted plot will appeal to thriller readers, especially Griffin's many fans, and although some of the dialogue is hackneyed, fans of the genre and author won't care. The important thing is the fast pacing and the relevance of the story to today's events and headlines. --George Cohen Copyright 2005 Booklist
Kirkus Review
The adventures of presidential go-to guy Charley Castillo continue in the latest from Griffin (By Order of the President, 2005, etc.), who has more series under his belt than the entire Stratemeyer Syndicate. Somebody has kidnapped attractive, rich, African-American embassy wife Betsy Masterson from the parking lot of the posh Buenos Aires restaurant where she had been stood up by her handsome, athletic, ambitious husband. Recovery of Mrs. Masterson is entrusted by America's no-guff president to Army Major C. G. "Charley" Castillo, polylingual heir to huge fortunes in Texas and Germany, handsome helicopter pilot and endlessly resourceful assistant to the Secretary of Homeland Security, yet another no-guff guy. Armed with total authority over everything and everybody in sight, Charley checks into the Buenos Aires Four Seasons under one of his several aliases and immediately ingratiates himself with the manly good-guys, whose number include the ambassador, at the embassy. What none of these right-thinking, Scotch-swilling men of action know, but what is revealed early on to the reader, is that Betsy Masterson has not been snatched by your everyday terrorist. Her taking is somehow involved with the Iraqi oil-for-food scheme in which her no-good brother, a U.N. bureaucrat, is somehow involved. The bad situation turns worse when Betsy's husband is murdered, having been summoned by the kidnappers, who release their badly traumatized victim. As Charley begins to sort things out, he finds that he needs help from home. Betty Schneider, the sexy, straight-shooting, ex-Philadelphia policewoman turned Secret Service agent on whom he has a serious crush, offers assistance. The well-toned couple has but one night between the smooth Four Seasons sheets before assassins nearly succeed in killing Betty, sending Charley into high gear and a lot of intercontinental travel until there is a climax in nearby Uruguay. The prolific, mega-selling Griffin is well on his way to a credible American James Bond franchise. It's slick as hell, but the big heart of the Marine series is not there, and that's too bad. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Charley Castillo, the Department of Homeland Security agent who got his start in last year's By Order of the President, must solve the kidnapping of a diplomat's wife. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
