Johnson's Spy

Buchanan has worked on special assignments for Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy. He is a solid, incorruptible and independent investigator, a man whom American Presidents summon when they must have the unvarnished truth about specific situations of immediate concern - domestic or foreign.

Following a covert assignment that took him in and out of Cuba in 1962, Buchanan returned to work on financial fraud and smuggling investigations in the FBI's Miami office. By the end of 1963, he was living comfortably in Florida with his wife, Ann, and had little desire to work again in Washington.

But by early 1964, Lyndon Johnson, who abruptly succeeded John F. Kennedy in November of 1963, already faced urban riots and economic unrest at home and crises in western Europe, Central America and southeast Asia.

Buchanan now receives a back-channel invitation to meet with President Johnson.
Much to the consternation of his wife, Buchanan visits the White House for a briefing. Johnson, an overbearing and persuasive man in person, is impossible to refuse when he offers an historic mission.

Buchanan agrees to the assignment, one that is delicate, classified and far more dangerous than billed. Tom cannot even tell his wife that he is going to the most dangerous city in the world: war-torn Saigon. And he will follow in the footsteps of the two men who already undertook this assignment and failed. Neither of Buchanan's predecessors was ever heard from again.

Buchanan promises Ann that he will retire from such Presidential assignments on his return and leave the Bureau itself after qualifying for his twenty-year pension in 1966. Ann remains displeased. But Buchanan leaves.

Ann stays in Miami for her own safety. Friends surround her. But danger, temptation and betrayal beckon for her, too. An attractive woman who is resentful of her husband's continuing absences, Ann falls in with the tough but glittery horse racing, jai alai and boxing crowd in Miami. Mutual friends facilitate key celebrity introductions. A gorgeous young heavyweight named Cassius Clay leaves her breathless when they meet in person. The Clay entourage draws her in. She easily draws the attention of more than a few men.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, Tom confronts a horrifying array of villains: war profiteers, spies, counterspies, gamblers, smugglers, disgruntled soldiers, military outlaws and political traitors. Worse, temptations are everywhere: bar girls, sexual traps and seducers working for the enemy. Today's trusted friend is tomorrow's lethal adversary.

This mission is unlike anything Buchanan has ever experienced. It also defies easy answers or acceptable resolutions. Meanwhile, the White House phones him weekly to demand results. Johnson is increasingly agitated and impatient for answers.

Even if Tom Buchanan can survive his assignment to South Vietnam, his decade-long marriage to Ann may perish. Truth is the first casualty and the ongoing collateral damage is beyond measurement. Times are changing, but so are partners and loyalties.

Johnson's Spy is not a cozy tale. It is a blunt, powerful and uncompromising story of espionage and war, love and lost love, and of personal sacrifice, integrity and betrayal, all wrapped within the real events of 1964 and 1965. It is the most hard-hitting book in this series.

Gripping and memorable, it is also historical/espionage fiction at its absolute best.