LANCE SPECTOR

Full Name:	Lance Spector
Nationality:	American
Organization:	CIA
Occupation	Agent

Creator:	Saul Herzog
Time Span:	2020 - 2024

ABOUT THE SERIES

Lance Spector is an agent with the CIA.

Was an agent. Was one of the best they had, member of a highly specialized and elite division inside the Agency, a subsection (I believe) of the Special Operations Group, led by a man named Levi Roth.

We are told that "The group was small, but punched above its weight in terms of authority and access. The bigwigs in congress rarely said no to them. Its field agents, known officially as Paramilitary Operatives, but within the group as assets, were secretly acknowledged to be the most elite units in the nation. They were recruited exclusively from Navy's SEAL Team Six, Air Force's 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Marine Corps' MARSOC, and Army's Delta Force. It was a team that actually did something, struck back at the enemy, hit them where it hurt."

Something else which looked small but had a heckuva punch is its leader, Roth, who will seem to be totally down and out with enemies all around in the government but who then shows he has a direct line to the President. Roth is a very scary fellow and fits the stereotypical mold of spymaster by being as ruthless as he needs to be.

Back to Spector, he was considered the best of the operative for this group until a very unpleasant event happened and he left. It was not a friendly departure, full it seems of attitude like 'don't come looking' and 'I'm gone for good!' but, of course, things change.

Spector is a very dangerous man, as deadly in his way as Roth is in his. He is also loyal as heck to his friends and willing to put his safety at risk to save those he feels he owes.

And speaking of friends, there are two special friends in Spector's life that will become vital players in the adventures that Spector has.

Laurel Everlane is a very intelligent and highly capable agent who is brought in to be Spector's new handler when he is pulled back into service. She won't get a lot of handling done, though, before she is forced to be an operative on her own. She is quite good and determined at it.

And Tatyana Aleksandrova is a force of nature. She hold a whole lot of well-founded anger and trust issues and when she decides to act, good luck to any who stands in her way.

BOOKS

Number of Books:	9
First Appearance:	2020
Last Appearance:	2024


1			The Asset Written by Saul Herzog Copyright: 2020 Lance Spector had left the CIA because years of dealing with its lies and duplicity had left a toll. He wanted the Agency and the Pentagon to go to blazes and leave him alone. Then a mysterious vial, encased in a titanium container, arrives at Langley and the contents of the vial is frightening. There is no name on the box but it does have a simple message: "I will only speak to Lance Spector".

2			The Russian Written by Saul Herzog Copyright: 2020 After a terrorist attack in Moscow kills hundreds, suspicion falls on America and Langley has worries of a new Cold War rising up, possibly becoming Hot. One man in the Agency believes the best man to look into the attack is Lance Spector but while he is already somewhere in that capital city, he is severely wounded.

3			The Target Written by Saul Herzog Copyright: 2021 All over the western edge of Russia, that country looks ready to launch their invasion plans, all working towards bringing back the USSR. Langley is certain there is one man that has the ability to dig deep enough to stop it and they call upon him to do so, even knowing that it will certainly cost him his life.

4			The Sleeper Written by Saul Herzog Copyright: 2021 In Norway, a NATA seismic array picks up the largest nuclear explosion since the fall of the Soviet Union. Then the largest icebreaker that country has disappears. Finally it is learned that the lead scientist on a Russian military research base has vanished along with his daughter. Lance Spector will have his work cut out for him.

5			The Splinter Written by Saul Herzog Copyright: 2022 Prague, Czech Republic "A Russian assassin is activated to kill seemingly unconnected female staffers at the US embassy. What emerges is a plot as complex as it is terrifying. Against a backdrop of escalating Russian invasion preparations, a Romanian kill squad, a Kremlin honeytrap, and a Soviet-era biological weapons victim converge on an unsuspecting city, and an unprotected embassy with deadly intent."

6			The Fixer Written by Saul Herzog Copyright: 2023 Rostov, Russia War has broken out. Russia has invaded its neighbor. As the world watches in horror, one assassin enters enemy territory to do what must be done. Washington DC, USA The US President grapples with one burning question. Is Russia preparing to use tactical nukes?

7			The Contact Written by Saul Herzog Copyright: 2023 Moscow, Russia: Rebels have entered the Kremlin. The sound of gunfire rings out over its ancient buildings. Has the Russian president's bloodthirsty regime entered its final death throes? Washington DC, USA: As war threatens to engulf the globe, the US President must decide if the assets the CIA has relied on for so long are worth the enormous cost.

8			The Center Written by Saul Herzog Copyright: 2024 A prequel. "Lance Spector is doing something he shouldn't be. He's sleeping with his handler. Here are all the reasons that can go so wrong. Set two years before the events of Book 1, The Center gives a shocking view of how far the Russians are willing to go to get kompromat on a trained assassin. It also shows just how far Lance Spector is willing to go to resist that kompromat, and how his relationship with Levi Roth became so fraught all those years ago."

9			The Station Written by Saul Herzog Copyright: 2024 "When a small police station in Washington State calls to say they've found Lance's sister, he has no choice but to go and investigate. What he finds is far more than he bargained for. This stunning climax to the groundbreaking Lance Spector series finally unravels a mystery that stretches from Washington, to the El Paso border region, to the heart of the Kremlin."

MY COMMENTS

As I seem to complain about more and more, these Lance Spector adventures run a bit too long. I know this because I could not stop reading. I mean it! When I finished the first book, I knew I had enjoyed the heck out of it but also knew that it would have been better pared down a bunch. Then I immediately opened the second book.

I will not say that I would like to be friends with Spector. He is a bit prickly at times and more than a bit spooky in his ability to inflict permanent harm so I think I would stay my distance. But if I needed a friend, well, that's a whole different story.

And if I needed someone to fight to the end to do the right thing, Spector would get my vote.

GRADE

My Grade: A-

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