From the back of the book:

After Bourne is ambushed and nearly killed while in Bali, he fakes his death to take on a new identity and mission- to find out who is trying to assassinate him. In the process, Bourne begins to question who he really is and what he would become if he no longer carried the Bourne identity.

Across the globe, an American passenger airliner is shot down over Egypt-apparently by an Iranian missile-leaving the world wondering if it was an accident or an act of aggression. A massive global team lead by Soraya Moore is assembled to investigate the attack before the situation escalates.

When Bourne's search for his would-be assassin intersects with Soraya's search for the group behind the airplane bombing, Bourne is thrust into a race to prevent a new world war. But it may already be too late.

My husband and I each read this book and then discussed it. Here is our overall assessment of the book?

My husband said: I liked most of the action scenes but I would have liked more realistic action. There were no car chases! Also, you know the attempted assignation at the beginning of the book? I wanted more about that. I needed more information in this book from previous book (The Bourne Sanction) since I didn't read that one. Overall, it was a fun and easy read for me. It clicked right along. It was engrossing and hard to put down. A nice, intricate plot.

My opinion: I didn't like it as much as you did. The plot was a little too intricate for me. I needed a list of names to keep track of who's who. There were so many sub-plots that it took me longer to read the book than it took you. But I did like most of the characters. Jason Bourne's nemesis, Arkadin, was well-developed. He was so evil and manipulative that I wanted something really bad to happen to him.

For our complete evaluation visit here: http://joyfullyretired.com/2009/07/03... ( )

Robert Ludlum, author of twenty-one novels, including the Jason Bourne series, died in March 2001. Yet, even after his death, the fans of Bourne’s adventures beckoned for more and Eric Van Lustbader, a novelist in his own right who has written 20 international best selling novels, stepped up and filled those enormous shoes of Ludlum by continuing the Bourne series with greater intensity of action and adventure.

The Bourne Deception begins in a peaceful, serene, and quixotic island setting where the most dangerous situation seemed to be the invasion of a mosquito through netting which covered Jason’s bed. Then, his engulfing tranquility is shattered when Jason is shot by an unknown assailant in an ambush. Van Lustbader accomplishes all this decisive action in the first thirty pages!

An American passenger plane is shot down over Egypt by an apparent Iranian missile. In the ensuing investigation, Bourne becomes a key player, but at the same time is trying to piece together clues which will lead him to his assailant. His involvement puts him in the middle of both incidents deepening your entanglement to figure out what is going to happen next.

If you haven’t read any of the previous Jason Bourne thrillers, have no fear, each of the characters are skillfully reintroduced taking their places in his present or past life. Then, without missing a beat, the action continues as each of them play an integral role in the Deception, which is the theme of this novel. Clichés should not find their place in good writing, but, this is a “page-turner; you really want to read.

One of the great strengths of both Robert Ludlum and Eric Van Lustbader is their ability to write clearly, concisely, and cleanly. Potty-mouth dialogue is not the norm and though many writers feel that in order to give the reader their “moneys-worth”, they must write many four-letter words. This is not the case in The Bourne Deception. Be deceived, but pleasantly, if you please.

Tying together all the loose ends is a technique which is utilized by those writers who realize that abruptly stopping at a cliff’s edge without conclusion will not satisfy true fans. Eric Van Lustbader concludes this story with flaring style and portends there will be further continuations of Jason Bourne’s worldly adventures.

Highly recommended. ( )