Todd Belknap, experienced field agent goes on a mission that goes awry at the same time his best friend, Jared Rhinehart, and fellow agent is kidnapped and will probably be tortured and killed. The State Dept decides not to rescue his friend and it is up to Belknap to rescue him. Andrea Bancroft is offered a lucrative position on the family philanthropic foundation. She takes the position but the more she finds out about the foundation, the more endangered her life becomes. At one point she meets Belknap and they work together to uncover the foundation's secrets and find Belknap's friend. Running and staying one step away from the bad guys.Where do I begin? At a few times this book is fun and descriptive and very well researched giving loads of information about travel destinations, cultures, computers and numerous ways to die. But the dialog is cliched and forced and at times too annoying to believe. “You feret things out more quicker when you got more ferrets.” The Belknap character has no depth. Very shallow but intense. Belknap likes Andrea and rescues her about a half a dozen times. Damn that implanted tracking device! The assassins Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones are campy and stupid. The villains who kill for the "Greater Good" to end suffering of many caused by bad individuals. And while they are at it recycle organs of those they kill. How green! Belknap gets shot at and caught in tight spots but always manages to get free, including an air duct that gets smaller as he slides down inside it. I got the audiobook version of this and the reader did an excellent job. The only reason I could halfway enjoy this book was by the voices and accents he gave to the silly characters. Had I read the printed version this would have been a 1 star book. This book was way too long and should have been better edited. Not everything had to be explained down to a nano-detail, not every bit of technology, thoughts, attire, countdown, yardage to an exit door and after about halfway I thought it was time to wrap it up. Not one of Ludlum's best but it may have been yet another book finished beyond the grave by a lesser writer since it was published 5 years after Ludlum's death.Yes and if you notice that all the covers of Ludlum's books have some guy running and looking over his shoulder. Well forget that. There should be boxes of Velveta. The more boxes, the worst the book. This book gets 5 boxes.
Interesting. The book is supposed to be written by Robert Ludlum; the cover merely mentions "Robert Ludlum"... no "and XYZ"...or "inspired by Robert Ludlum" etc. Yet, when I do a simple google search, I discover that Ludlum apparently started this work, but did not finish it. The Ludlum estate found a "qualified author and editor" to complete the work.Well what the hell...give the devil it's due. This is a pretty good "Ludlum" (irrespective of who really wrote each page). It has all the hallmarks of a Ludlum classic - a global conspiracy, a rogue agent, Consular Ops, a close friend turned foe (or is he ?), a rich and powerful group...in short, the works!!! The pace is really good; the action, the murders and the suspense keep the reader on his toes. A darn good entertainer.The story revoles around 2 protagonists; the first is Todd Belknap - a rogue agent (written off, but not "beyond salvage" yet) part of the Consular Ops. His best friend has been adbucted and the government refuses to do anything; so Todd must take things into this own hands and search the world around to reach his goal. The other character is Andrea Newton; she unexpectedly receives a huge sum of money bequeathed by her ancestors, and becomes a part of a wealthy and powerful family. She starts snooping into the so-called-philanthropic activities of the group and the shit starts to smell. As expected, the paths of the hero and heroine cross, and they need to save the world together....as I mentioned earlier, classical Ludlum material.Highly recommended to anyone who loves a nice action thriller....more specifically a Ludlum thriller.
What do You think about The Bancroft Strategy (2006)?
The plot was what you would expect in this kind of book (protagonists discover they are tangled up in some bad organization and trying to survive while unraveling the mystery), nothing particularly remarkable there. Would be a solid 3 stars except for the interesting perspective some of the characters have. In striving to do the most good in the world, sometimes "bad" things are a net benefit to society.
—David
Gr8 book, Ludlum seldom gives readers a loose point in this novel.Basically an espionage story about a protagonist(spy from American secret agency) searching for his friend and colleague.It seems in manner in which writer describes scenario that he must have been spy himself.Novel takes you to the journey of countries around the world and his description of places and people is just enchanting.Each page gives out something new twists and turns although novel have many characters(as it should be in thriller genre)but it makes out a point that reader don't forget anyone of them.Most ground breaking things are conversations between various characters. Ending is terrific and very justifiable.Just more than glad to read such a delightful book.At some point this novel tries to shake our perceptions about certain things.Sometimes morality definition is redefined......
—Ambar Parashar
This book is probably what began my fascination with adult action-themed books. Recommended by my dad when I was home sick from school and had nothing to do, I picked up this book and was hooked all the way to the end. By Robert Ludlum, also the author of the Jason Bourne series, I really loved the descriptive writing and action packed chapters. The plot frequently had me guessing until the very end, and I was suprised by the outcome. I have to say, I really like this book. It moves at a fast pace that remains easy to understand, and keeps you guessing, making the book more enjoyable.
—Robbie
