A strange book. Police procedures mixed in withcovert actions and a bad guy that doesn't seem to follow logical paths. I understand the suspension of disbelief but there must be a logic in his movements within the story. I also got the feeling that this could have been written by Ludlum before he discovered the italics key on his computer.

I had a somewhat strange reaction to this book. The first third is, essentially, a police procedural (albeit a particularly violent one) set in Los Angeles. I ordinarily find police procedurals to be dull; therefore, they don't usually make my reading list. However, despite the apparent genre, I found myself unable to put the book down. That doesn't necessarily mean that I was loving the story -- I wasn't -- but, I did find it strangely compelling. The second third of the book is very different; it was much more the type of thriller that I'm used to reading (although it still has some elements of the police procedural). Oddly, the author has several "twists" that are almost expected; however, this did not take away from the suspense of the novel. Finally, the last third of the book is more of a standard thriller; however, it is also the weakest part of the book. Overall, I enjoyed The Exile; however, there are several major (and I mean major) plot elements that just don't quite make sense (like the eventual explanation of why the antagonist personally has to see to the crimes committed in the early part of the book and thus risk the carefully laid plans) that took away from the overall impact of the story. A good book, but not Folsom's best. ( )