Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN num: 9780446530552
ISBN number: 0446530557
Label: Warner Books
Manufacturer: Warner Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 384
Printing Date: January 09, 2003
Publishing house: Warner Books
Sale Popularity Level: 496160
Studio: Warner Books
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In the worst case of treason in U.S. history, General William Morrison has been charged with a breathtaking array of crimes. Oddsmakers give Sean Drummond zero chance of saving his client from a death sentence. However, his obligation runs deeper than simply professional: Morrison's wife, a CIA executive, has begged Sean to save her husband, and Drummond doesn't want to disappoint his old flame. Despite ever-more-damning intelligence leaks that paint Morrison as worse than Bene- dict Arnold, Drummond bulls ahead and comes to suspect that this simple case of treason is actually a chess game being played at the highest levels by the best and brightest-one in which Morrison is merely a pawn.
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Rated by buyers 
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Smart alecky U.S. Army JAG lawyer Sean Drummond is back immersed in another untenable legal situation in Brian Haig's suspenseful "The Kingmaker". Drummond has been requested as legal counsel by General Bill Morrison, incarcerated in Leavenworth, accused of treason by revealing some of the most damaging U.S. governmental secrets to the Russians. Morrison had been the right hand man of Asst. Secretary of State, Milton Martin, an acknowledged expert in U.S.-Russian relations. Drummond's expertise was also seconded by Morrison's wife, Mary who had been involved in a three year relationship with Drummond. She had been Moscow's CIA station chief with acess to sensitive information as well.
In anticipation of having to travel to Russia to investigate, Drummond recruits civilian lawyer, the Russian speaking, generation X Katrina Mazorski as co-counsel. They soon are thrust into the clandestine and dangerous world of espionage when pursuing their inquest in Moscow. During a previous interview with Morrison he grudgingly admits that he had served as the handler of Alexi Arbatov, the number two man in Russia's spy network. Arbatov's boss Viktor Yurichenko, the cerebral granderfatherly top Russian spymaster was a supremely powerful man influencing Russian foreign policy. Once Drummond and Mazorski established contact with Arbatov to help exonerate their client their lives were in constant danger.
Probing investigation by Drummond uncovered an unthinkable plot that had and was shaping the dynamics of worldwide geopolitics. Haig's extensive military and political background give much credence to his plot in what proved to be another stirring legal and political thriller.
Rated by buyers 
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The continuation of Sean Drummond as a central character works again in this Brian Haig novel. Although it seemed the ending got wrapped up a little too fast for my tastes, Haig has once again written a smart and fast paced book. The infusions of humour add to the enjoyment. Hopefully Haig is able to maintain the momentum.
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I listened to an abridged version of this book on cassette tape while on a road trip. Unlike another book on tape I tried on that trip, the person who read The Kingmaker was easy to understand. The reader also did a competent job of creating the voices of the different characters.
I chose the book because it was the only one in the display at Cracker Barrel that was at least 6 hours long and did not have a listener warning about language and content. (The other one was a Nancy Drew mystery of only 3 hours).
I thought this was a good book but not a great book. I found the characters and plot interesting and occasionally laughed at the humor. I appreciated the main character�s ability to defend his client and to keep from getting killed. I also liked that the author kept the plot moving and mostly used amusing similes. I especially liked that the author kept the language and violence down to around a PG13 level. I didn�t think the book was great, because nothing about it really blew me away. But I did enjoy it, and I can recommend it to anyone who needs to kill a few hours.
Rated by buyers -
THE KINGMAKER by Brian Haig
You Wouldn't Believe Who It Was?
Mr. Haig was born in the correct family to write a story based in Washington D. C. He has experience in what he writes about, the CIA and FBI, he grew up hearing about them all the time and later served his time in the military. He was a West Point graduate and served as a military strategist and the military specialist for the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff. Now he writes 'on the edge of your chair' fiction about the Washington scene, with the CIA and FBI featured, with knowledge of what he is writing about. This is his second book that I have read. And they get better. Once you start one of his books it's hard to but it down.
In this story he takes you to Russia and back to Washington D. C. His hero, Sean is very polished in any kind of company. He maintains his sense of humour almost all the time with all kinds of people, but can take care of himself in any kind of situation when called upon to do so.
Rated by buyers -
This is the very first novel by Brian Haig that I have read; it works very well as a standalone story although definitely made me want to read his two earlier novels with Major Sean Drummond as the chief protagonist. While this is a story within a legal framework, it is much more an action-adventure, espionage, political intrigue, romantic thriller with frequent comic relief to offset the tension. It is an incredibly fast paced, easy read which I enjoyed tremendously.
The storyline is simplicity itself, Brigadier General William Morrison is in Fort Leavenworth, accused of the most damaging acts of treason in the history of the country. Despite their personal animosity, he chooses Major Sean Drummond of the JAG Corps to not only save him from the death penalty but prove his innocence. Not only does Drummond dislike Morrrison intensely, but the General's wife Mary, a high level CIA employee who had been stationed in Moscow with Morrison, had an affair with Drummond before she dumped him to marry up in class. Just to raise the stakes, the prosecuting attorney, Major Eddie Golden, has twice been the recipient of the Hangman Award (the JAG equivalent of Top Gun status). Further stumbling blocks are that most of the evidence is classified top security and knowledge of Russian appears to be a mandatory skill. Sean locates a civilian associate, Katrina Mazorski, who is both fluent in Russian and has top secret clearance but whose experience since her recent graduation from law school has primarily consisted of cases from the local police blotter. With her pierced navel and non-traditional dress, she is the perfect foil for Drummond. Many of their interchanges are wonderful.
The case seems hopeless and Morrison appears guilty, but when Drummond is forced to protect himself and Katrina on multiple occasions from attempted ambushes (including during a visit to Moscow), they conclude that there is a massive coverup being attempted and perhaps their client really is innocent of the most serious charges, although still guilty of being an overbearing, ambitious and egotistical jerk. This is a story whose plot very cleverly includes a conspiratorial explanation for the dissolution of the Soviet Empire and the eventual rise to power of Putin. It even includes characters who appear to be loosely based on President Clinton and Strobe Talbott. It is an alternate history, where you just accept the background as you are swept along in the story.
The characters are so sharply drawn that they are almost all charicatures of themselves, but tremendously enjoyable ones. In many instances, Drummond's wisecracks and his repartee with Katrina strike just the right note in keeping him true to the story. (Just the same sort of embellishment to the role that has made James Bond's character so universal and so durable despite the stories having an element of unbelievability.) For those who want a fast paced tale, this is the legal equivalent of James Bond without the futuristic aspects that have increasingly become the trademark of that franchise. While I doubt Sean Drummond will be as durable a character and as good a franchise as Bond (and the genre of legal action adventure thrillers is a lot narrower), I enjoyed this book as much and felt it was as true to the period in which it is set as the early Ian Fleming books which I read voraciously approximately thirty years ago.
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