Over twenty years ago William F. Buckley Jr. launched the dashing character of Blackford Oakes like a missile over the literary landscape. This newly minted CIA agent--brainy, bold, and complex--began his career by saving the queen of England and quickly took his place in the pantheon of master spies drawn up by Somerset Maugham, Graham Greene, and John LeCarre. Against the backdrop of sinister Cold War intrigue, in this his eleventh outing, Oakes crosses paths--and swords--with Kim Philby, perhaps the highest-ranking in the parade of defectors to the Soviet Union. Oakes is now himself a master spy, working out of the agency and around agency rules. His romance with an able and worldly Soviet doctor provides consolation for the death of his beloved Sally. But after his return to Washington he receives dismaying news. It is inevitable that the great Soviet spy and the renowned American agent will meet again--this time, with deadly consequences. Previous novels in the series include Saving the Queen; Stained Glass; Who's on First; Marco Polo, If You Can; The Story of Henri Tod; See You Later, Alligator; High Jinx; Mongoose, R.I.P.; Tucker's Last Stand; A Very Private Plot; and The Blackford Oakes Reader. Blackford Oakes, who by sheer wit and charm might have won more liberals over to the conservative side than his creator Buckley ever managed on Firing Line, has been sent to Moscow by President Ronald Reagan (in 1987) to look into preventing yet another plot to assassinate Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. A previous attempt had failed, thanks to Oakes and colleagues, but the brother of one of the failed conspirators vows revenge. Oakes tackles the problem head-on but is challenged even more by his newfound love for brilliant Soviet surgeon Ursina Chadinov and his life-or-death struggle with notorious double-agent Kim Philby. Buckley purposefully if artlessly weaves real-life figures Reagan, Gorbachev, Philby, and author Graham Greene into his narrative, and he applies a credible, if rightist, historical context without seeming to lecture. Perhaps as a result, this eleventh Blackford Oakes tale is too chatty for its own good and will have to rely on the series' popularity--rather than the strength of its plot--to pull fans along. But those fans remain numerous. Alan Moores Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved William F. Buckley Jr. is the founder of National Review and was the host of what was television's longest-running program, Firing Line . He was recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The author of thirteen other novels, including Spytime and Nuremberg: The Reckoning , he lives in Connecticut. William F. Buckley Jr. is the founder of National Review.