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When you're the son of a famous man, you more often than not spend half of your time explaining who you are and half of your time explaining who you aren't. If you're smart and capable, you go into a field totally different from the one where ol' Pop made his bones. Accordingly, if you have a father named Alexander who has had the ear of presidents, been a consultant and is a television news correspondent, you do anything other than that. Brian Haig played it smart. He became a novelist.
Haig made his literary debut a couple of years ago with MORTAL ALLIES, in which he introduced Sean Drummond to the world. Drummond is a member of the JAG Corps --- an attorney who belongs to the largest legal firm in the world, that of the U.S. Army. Drummond is an overconfident, irredeemable wiseass with a penchant for being assigned seemingly impossible cases and somehow pulling the fat out of the fire. Drummond was also a part of a super-secret division within the Army that did a lot of dirty wet work and, when he became too banged-up to continue with that mission, he became an attorney. It turned out that his training in killing people and blowing things up continues to hold him in good stead with the practice of law, as he is always getting into jams. SECRET SANCTION followed MORTAL ALLIES and Drummond continued to grow and become further defined as a character. However, with THE KINGMAKER, Drummond and Haig truly join the 'A' List of suspense novelists.
THE KINGMAKER is much more complex, plotwise, than either of its predecessors. Drummond is called upon to defend Brigadier General William Morrison against a laundry list of charges ranging from treason to adultery. Drummond and Morrison have a bit of a history. Drummond and Morrison were involved in a covert mission together several years prior. More significantly, however, Morrison's wife, Mary, used to have a relationship with Drummond and, as they say, where there once was a flame there may still be a flicker. Drummond absolutely cannot stand Morrison, which serves as an interesting and subtle plot vehicle. Although Drummond is predisposed to accepting Morrison's guilt, he tenaciously attempts to prove him innocent. It's not that Drummond is all that enamored with the legal system, the rights of the defendant, or the presumption of innocence --- he just hates to lose. Drummond does not mind telling us this, nor does he mind describing his exotic co-counsel, Katrina Mazourski, every chance he gets.
What makes THE KINGMAKER such a winner, however, is that Haig combines elements of Robert B. Parker and Robert Ludlum to create a richly complex and enjoyable plot that is impossible to second-guess. Morrison is accused of causing major damage to American foreign policy efforts and had the access to enough highly classified information to do exactly that. His wife, meanwhile, is a CIA executive who was no doubt privy to similar information. Morrison also has a penchant for exaggeration, which makes it doubly difficult for Drummond to successfully craft a defense for him. What Drummond eventually uncovers is that a conspiracy has influenced Russian governments for decades and possibly extended its influence into the White House during the 1990s. And while Haig, through Drummond, speaks with the voice of a wiseass, this is highbrow stuff. Some of the incidents described within THE KINGMAKER, particularly the intrigue surrounding the proposed Georgian gas pipelines in 1995, actually took place. One wonders how much of THE KINGMAKER is fiction and how much is fact described as fantasy.
Haig really hits his stride with THE KINGMAKER, continuing to develop an already interesting character and displaying a mastery of plot that many more experienced authors will undoubtedly envy. Future Drummond novels will certainly be anticipated on Haig's own merits and reputation, rather than on the fame of his relatives. Recommended.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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