This is the third of the Simon Riske series. The appropriately named Riske sets out to once again help a friend from his past. . Perfect for fans of James Bond Riske dashes across the globe to save his once best friend in return for his now estranged friends' having done the same for him. Leaving his beloved auto body shop behind Simon almost loses his life multiple times in this satisfying read. He has the ability to utilize the skills of his compatriots and convince a motley group of others to help him reach the end goal which is much removed from his original task. A most satisfying read!

A novel that has all the ingredients to keep the reader glued to the pages. It is high adventure played out in exotic parts of the world and by people with titanic fortunes at their disposal and greedy to add to their wealth. This is Christopher Reich's third book featuring Simon Riske now a private spy, formerly ex convict and a man that takes on problem solving wherever and whenever the mood strikes him. He has the wealth to do so and to also insure that the ability of a client to pay him has nothing to do with taking on any challenge.
Rafael de Bourbon is a friend of Riskes and had once literally saved his life. He is also married to a woman that Riske was once in love with. He is in Thailand and in the process of opening up a luxury boutique hotel. While working at finishing up the work on his proposed hotel he is subjected to a raid by Royal Thai police and charged with blackmail and extortion. With no evidence produced Rafael is thrown into Bangkok's worse jail. In desperation he manages to contact Simon Riske who feels obligated to travel to Thailand and work on getting his friend freed.
Simon quickly discovers that Rafael is somehow mixed up in a plot of immense magnitude and incidentally finds himself mixed up in the problem. In working on the solution, the Israeli Mossad, a world-famous financial lady author, and more friends of his join in the proceedings with Simon to come to grips with joining into the search for answers. The format of the book is continued action, action and more action with trips undertaken to various countries that have a place in the scheme of things. Needless to say, that there is no rest on this one. Another all nighter for readers of the book, and of course awaiting the next novel by the author.

The Palace by Christopher Reich is a great novel. I highly recommend it. The plot is non stop and very hard to put the book down. Very interesting tidbits are also woven into the story about history and countries. The question for me is how much of the plot is true?