At first, They All Ran After the President's Wife seems to belong to the brand of international thriller typified by the fiction of Ken Follet and Robert Ludlum in which incredibly heroic figures (even handsome political figures) use their wits to battle fiendish terrorists; Jovunet sounds much like international assassinfor-hire Carlos the Jackal from Ludlum's Bourne books (see the entry for The Bourne Ultimatum, 1990). However, Clark can be surprising; the international terrorist she creates is her kind of villain— suave, sensitive, strong minded, and evil.

One may be easily fooled into believing her plot will go the predictable direction, involving wealthy, powerful characters, high living on seemingly limitless money, and beautiful, handsome characters swept together in a tale of murder and mystery.

Yet, Clark surprises. She takes another tack and places her tale in a literary tradition other than the one of international espionage. Instead...