In this wickedly funny novel, Robert Ludlum combines the explosive pacing of The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy with a bitingly witty send-up of everything from government bureaucrats and pandering military men to the mob, the law, and organized religion. War hero and infamous ladies' man, General MacKenzie Hawkins is a living legend. His life story had even been sold to Hollywood. But now he stands accused of defacing a historic monument in China's Forbidden City. Under house arrest in Peking, with a case against him pending in Washington, it looks like the end of Mac's illustrious career. But he has a plan of his own--and it includes kidnapping the Pope. What's the ransom? Just one American dollar--"for every Catholic in the world." Add to the mix a slew of shady "investors," Hawkins's four persuasive, well-endowed ex-wives, and a young lawyer and fellow soldier who wants nothing more than to return to private life--and you've got one relentlessly irreverent page-turner. Here Robert Ludlum combines a motley cast -- characters all -- with the U.S. Army's latest fall guy in a mad plot to kidnap the most beloved pontiff since John XXIII. The ransom: one American dollar for every Catholic in the world. The problem: Pope Francesco I says: "Gentle Souls, why not?" Originally published under the pseudonym Michael Shepard.
Description:
In this wickedly funny novel, Robert Ludlum combines the explosive pacing of The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy with a bitingly witty send-up of everything from government bureaucrats and pandering military men to the mob, the law, and organized religion. War hero and infamous ladies' man, General MacKenzie Hawkins is a living legend. His life story had even been sold to Hollywood. But now he stands accused of defacing a historic monument in China's Forbidden City. Under house arrest in Peking, with a case against him pending in Washington, it looks like the end of Mac's illustrious career. But he has a plan of his own--and it includes kidnapping the Pope. What's the ransom? Just one American dollar--"for every Catholic in the world." Add to the mix a slew of shady "investors," Hawkins's four persuasive, well-endowed ex-wives, and a young lawyer and fellow soldier who wants nothing more than to return to private life--and you've got one relentlessly irreverent page-turner. Here Robert Ludlum combines a motley cast -- characters all -- with the U.S. Army's latest fall guy in a mad plot to kidnap the most beloved pontiff since John XXIII. The ransom: one American dollar for every Catholic in the world. The problem: Pope Francesco I says: "Gentle Souls, why not?" Originally published under the pseudonym Michael Shepard.
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