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Liz Sansborough #2
The Coil
A sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel, Masquerade, The Coil picks up several years later. Liz Sansborough, former CIA agent and now an academic, has managed to put the pieces of her life back together. But Sansborough has a dark secret - she is the daughter of the one of the most notorious Cold War Assassins, The Carnivore. When a series of prominent political figures are blackmailed into certain actions or die in suspicious ways, the CIA becomes convinced that someone has gotten hold of the Carnivore's files and is using that information to further some secret agenda. Sansborough herself - the closet living link to the Carnivore - is the target of a murder attempt, her offices are searched, her files stolen and her TV program on the secrets of the Cold War inexplicably shelved by the network. When she learns her cousin Sarah Walker - who bears a close resemblance to Sansborough - is kidnapped off the street with the ransom demand being the Carnivore's missing - possibly apocryphal - files, Liz is determined to save her cousin and uncover the swirling conspiracy, linked to a shadowy group known as The Coil, centered around the legacy of her father. But she's far from the only one going after the truth behind the legendary assassin.
512 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 7, 2004
32 people are currently reading
337 people want to read
About the author
Gayle Lynds
74 books235 followersNew York Times bestseller Gayle Lynds is the award-winning author of ten international espionage novels. Library Journal calls her “the reigning queen of espionage fiction.” The London Observer says she’s a “kick-ass thriller writer.” Lee Child calls her “today’s best espionage writer.”
Born in Omaha, NE, and raised in Council Bluffs, IA, Gayle graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in journalism. While there, she often sneaked into classes and readings at the renowned Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She was blessed by remarkable teachers — among them were John Irving in rhetoric and Kurt Vonnegut in a literature class. For her, the university was a lively petri dish of books, writing, and adventure.
Gayle officially began her writing career as a reporter for The Arizona Republic, where a series of her investigative pieces made such an impact that they led to changes in state legislation. Later she took a job as an editor with rare Top Secret security clearance at a private think tank that did government work. Assorted shadowy figures passed through, and not only ideas but engineers and artists seemed to bounce off the walls. She was inspired. She wanted to write about what she was seeing and experiencing.
Expressing her love of mainstream literature, she wrote short stories that were published in literary journals. Simultaneously, she wrote male pulp novels in the Nick Carter series. Soon the two forms began to jell in her mind. The first novel under her own name, Gayle Lynds, was Masquerade, a New York Times bestseller that Publishers Weekly later listed as one of the top ten spy novels of all time.
Others of her novels have been prize winners. The Last Spymaster won Best Novel from both the American Authors Association and the Military Writers Society of America. The Book of Spies was a finalist for both the Nero and Audie awards. The Coil won Best Contemporary Novel from Affaire de Coeur. Mosaic was RT Thriller of the Year. Mesmerized was a Daphne du Maurier Award finalist. With Robert Ludlum, she created the Covert-One series, one of which, The Hades Factor, was a CBS miniseries.
Gayle’s previous husband was Dennis Lynds, an award-winning detective novelist who died in 2005. They had lived several decades in Santa Barbara, CA, where they raised their children. In 2011, a new stage of her life began when she married John C. Sheldon, a long-time resident of Maine. A retired judge, John is a former prosecutor and defense attorney and Visiting Scholar to Harvard Law School. Today they live on fourteen acres of oaks, maples, hemlocks, and white pine outside Portland. A voracious reader, John had never written fiction when they met. Now they have collaborated on three short stories.
Gayle is a member of the Association for Intelligence Operatives and cofounder (with David Morrell) and former copresident of International Thriller Writers, Inc. ITW’s annual celebration is ThrillerFest, held every July in New York City.
Born in Omaha, NE, and raised in Council Bluffs, IA, Gayle graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in journalism. While there, she often sneaked into classes and readings at the renowned Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She was blessed by remarkable teachers — among them were John Irving in rhetoric and Kurt Vonnegut in a literature class. For her, the university was a lively petri dish of books, writing, and adventure.
Gayle officially began her writing career as a reporter for The Arizona Republic, where a series of her investigative pieces made such an impact that they led to changes in state legislation. Later she took a job as an editor with rare Top Secret security clearance at a private think tank that did government work. Assorted shadowy figures passed through, and not only ideas but engineers and artists seemed to bounce off the walls. She was inspired. She wanted to write about what she was seeing and experiencing.
Expressing her love of mainstream literature, she wrote short stories that were published in literary journals. Simultaneously, she wrote male pulp novels in the Nick Carter series. Soon the two forms began to jell in her mind. The first novel under her own name, Gayle Lynds, was Masquerade, a New York Times bestseller that Publishers Weekly later listed as one of the top ten spy novels of all time.
Others of her novels have been prize winners. The Last Spymaster won Best Novel from both the American Authors Association and the Military Writers Society of America. The Book of Spies was a finalist for both the Nero and Audie awards. The Coil won Best Contemporary Novel from Affaire de Coeur. Mosaic was RT Thriller of the Year. Mesmerized was a Daphne du Maurier Award finalist. With Robert Ludlum, she created the Covert-One series, one of which, The Hades Factor, was a CBS miniseries.
Gayle’s previous husband was Dennis Lynds, an award-winning detective novelist who died in 2005. They had lived several decades in Santa Barbara, CA, where they raised their children. In 2011, a new stage of her life began when she married John C. Sheldon, a long-time resident of Maine. A retired judge, John is a former prosecutor and defense attorney and Visiting Scholar to Harvard Law School. Today they live on fourteen acres of oaks, maples, hemlocks, and white pine outside Portland. A voracious reader, John had never written fiction when they met. Now they have collaborated on three short stories.
Gayle is a member of the Association for Intelligence Operatives and cofounder (with David Morrell) and former copresident of International Thriller Writers, Inc. ITW’s annual celebration is ThrillerFest, held every July in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
November 29, 2014
To use a famous Dorothy Parker quote, "This book should not be put down lightly. It should be thrown with great force."
The Coil is terribly over-written and full of impossibly timed and improbable events.
Hard to get much past a few chapters without wondering why anyone would recommend a book so badly written.
The Coil is terribly over-written and full of impossibly timed and improbable events.
Hard to get much past a few chapters without wondering why anyone would recommend a book so badly written.
November 1, 2015
A run of the mill 40 to 50 page short story about Bilderburgers turns into a 400+ page assault on literacy.
Flaccid prose, overwrought language, inane plot "twists."
Starts with identical cousins and goes downhill quickly, before plunging into an abyss of stupidity.
Insipid, insulting and ill-advised.
Also, not very good.
Flaccid prose, overwrought language, inane plot "twists."
Starts with identical cousins and goes downhill quickly, before plunging into an abyss of stupidity.
Insipid, insulting and ill-advised.
Also, not very good.
February 12, 2018
Complicated and difficult to follow
Recommend reading for women only. Written from the romantic perspective of a female. Males simply do not think nor behave as this obviously female author believes they do. Interesting story, but could have been written just as effectively in half the space by editing out large and unnecessary descriptive material.
Recommend reading for women only. Written from the romantic perspective of a female. Males simply do not think nor behave as this obviously female author believes they do. Interesting story, but could have been written just as effectively in half the space by editing out large and unnecessary descriptive material.
November 3, 2011
Wow, what a wild ride! You don't know who to trust or who is the "bad guy". It was amazing. If you like this type of book, it is a great read.
January 15, 2018
This book is a page turner!
Liked the book as it was set in the present and tackled the growing globalization of our planet.
It also brought into play a secret society of wealthy and powerful individuals who took it upon themselves to determine what was best for the world without regard to unintended consequences.
A timely and unfortunately realistic situational outcome of too much power in too few hands.
Liked the book as it was set in the present and tackled the growing globalization of our planet.
It also brought into play a secret society of wealthy and powerful individuals who took it upon themselves to determine what was best for the world without regard to unintended consequences.
A timely and unfortunately realistic situational outcome of too much power in too few hands.
January 8, 2018
A disappointing followup to Masquerade. Too many characters and connections to keep track of here and the story chases itself in circles for the longest time. It doesn't really succeed as an intelligence novel or a murder mystery. The author uses all this to try to provide some significant insights on violence and globalization but even that gets lost in the murk.
October 1, 2018
Not my cup of tea. Conspiracy of world leaders, routine love insert, too unbelievable for me. I enjoyed her first two books. enough new and different to make them interesting. this was too boiler plate of this type of book. Nothing to generate any enthusiasm about
July 11, 2017
Her quest and the conspiracy to stop her
I loved the character of Liz and her need to break away from the senseless violence. A fast thrill ride!
I loved the character of Liz and her need to break away from the senseless violence. A fast thrill ride!
May 2, 2018
mildly intriguing. ok if suspension of belief comes easily. some interesting thoughts on world economy maybe worth thinking about for a short bit.
February 2, 2021
Laatste twee hoofdstukken waren technisch niet te lezen met de daisyreader app
November 8, 2022
Great suspense! Starts slow - you wonder where the story is going, but you always know you will eventually discover where all the twists and turns lead.
December 3, 2022
I really liked the storyline but the writing was a little disjointed and hard to follow. Trying to keep the characters, location, and timeline straight was complicated.
July 25, 2024
Enjoyable story.
Looking to read another in the series.
Looking to read another in the series.
March 20, 2018
Wie Maskerade (Masquerade) een spannend boek vond, zal zich beslist heel goed amuseren met het vervolg, De Kronos affaire (The Coil). De eer viel mij te beurt om een advanced reading copy te mogen lezen. In oktober verschijnt The Coil op de Nederlandse markt, uitgegeven bij Luitingh-Sijthoff onder de titel De Kronos Affaire. Gayle Lynds zal dan ook een bezoek brengen aan Nederland.
Vooruitlopend hierop wilde ik jullie alvast laten weten dat De Kronos affaire (The Coil) alle verwachtingen waarmaakt. De hoofdpersonen zijn ditmaal weer Liz Sansborough en Sarah Walker, maar de nadruk ligt nu op de 'echte' Liz. Zij heeft haar studie afgemaakt en bekleedt een leerstoel p'ychologie. Aan dat rustige leven komt een einde als ze op een dag zomaar, tijdens een rondje joggen, wordt aangevallen. Dan ontdekt zij, in stapjes, de verpletterende waarheid achter het leven dat zij leidt. En terwijl ze daarmee moet leren omgaan, moet ze op een reddingsmissie: haar nicht Sarah is ontvoerd. Asher, haar man, ligt zwaargewond in het ziekenhuis. De vierde hoofdpersoon is Simon Childs, de neef van Liz en Sarah. Uiteindelijk draait het allemaal om de geheime notities van ‘De Carnivoor', Liz' vader die in Maskerade aan zijn eind kwam. Het internationale (illegale) gezelschap 'The Coil', dat bestaat uit zes personen die elkaar hebben leren kennen bij het bijzondere genootschap 'Nautilus', jaagt nietsontziend op deze vier mensen, daarbij soms geholpen en soms tegengewerkt door de FBI en MI6. Het Nautilus-genootschap is onder meer gemodelleerd naar de Bilderberggroep, in Nederland wellicht een bekend begrip omdat Prins Bernhard er lid van is.
Het is éven de aandacht erbij houden in dit boek: in het begin zijn al die namen en schuilnamen nogal ingewikkeld. Voeg daarbij het feit dat ook de lezer niet op de hoogte is van alle ontwikkelingen, die krijg je pas te lezen als Liz of Sarah of een van de anderen een ontdekking doen. Alle lijntjes worden echter netjes ontrafeld, met aan het eind, zoals het een echt spannend boek betaamd, nog even een héél interessante draai!
Naast een spannend goed verhaal is het ook een verhaal om wellicht later nog eens over na te denken: waarom zouden er immers zoveel mensen zijn die zich de moeite getroosten te protesteren tegen de globalisering?
Vooruitlopend hierop wilde ik jullie alvast laten weten dat De Kronos affaire (The Coil) alle verwachtingen waarmaakt. De hoofdpersonen zijn ditmaal weer Liz Sansborough en Sarah Walker, maar de nadruk ligt nu op de 'echte' Liz. Zij heeft haar studie afgemaakt en bekleedt een leerstoel p'ychologie. Aan dat rustige leven komt een einde als ze op een dag zomaar, tijdens een rondje joggen, wordt aangevallen. Dan ontdekt zij, in stapjes, de verpletterende waarheid achter het leven dat zij leidt. En terwijl ze daarmee moet leren omgaan, moet ze op een reddingsmissie: haar nicht Sarah is ontvoerd. Asher, haar man, ligt zwaargewond in het ziekenhuis. De vierde hoofdpersoon is Simon Childs, de neef van Liz en Sarah. Uiteindelijk draait het allemaal om de geheime notities van ‘De Carnivoor', Liz' vader die in Maskerade aan zijn eind kwam. Het internationale (illegale) gezelschap 'The Coil', dat bestaat uit zes personen die elkaar hebben leren kennen bij het bijzondere genootschap 'Nautilus', jaagt nietsontziend op deze vier mensen, daarbij soms geholpen en soms tegengewerkt door de FBI en MI6. Het Nautilus-genootschap is onder meer gemodelleerd naar de Bilderberggroep, in Nederland wellicht een bekend begrip omdat Prins Bernhard er lid van is.
Het is éven de aandacht erbij houden in dit boek: in het begin zijn al die namen en schuilnamen nogal ingewikkeld. Voeg daarbij het feit dat ook de lezer niet op de hoogte is van alle ontwikkelingen, die krijg je pas te lezen als Liz of Sarah of een van de anderen een ontdekking doen. Alle lijntjes worden echter netjes ontrafeld, met aan het eind, zoals het een echt spannend boek betaamd, nog even een héél interessante draai!
Naast een spannend goed verhaal is het ook een verhaal om wellicht later nog eens over na te denken: waarom zouden er immers zoveel mensen zijn die zich de moeite getroosten te protesteren tegen de globalisering?
June 13, 2011
A POOR PROTRAIT OF A SPY NOVEL
Though the author explains at the end how the plot of this novel came to her mind, I do not yet know what she had in mind when she wrote The Coil
There are key elements that a great spy novel cannot afford to lack, and in The Coil you will never find, a bottomline fiery existent mystery to entice the readers, a very well strong developed character (either a lovable hero or a bad guy or both), ingenious twist and turns (I could not find even a single one), action packed suspense and a deep background research to make it believable,
Instead, The Coil exhibits and array of cardboard characters and silly situations that quickly turn into a chaotic maelstrom and at one point one gets lost and drowns in an ocean roiled with cardboard characters, cities and situations, most of them similar in substance, (and wonders - what is the author after ?), and with this scheme the story plods along all the way to the end
In addition, language and dialogues are very poor and there is neither climate nor emotion
I thought, I just had found a lovable spy book in the line of Frederic Forsyth blockbusters but made a big mistake.
Though the author explains at the end how the plot of this novel came to her mind, I do not yet know what she had in mind when she wrote The Coil
There are key elements that a great spy novel cannot afford to lack, and in The Coil you will never find, a bottomline fiery existent mystery to entice the readers, a very well strong developed character (either a lovable hero or a bad guy or both), ingenious twist and turns (I could not find even a single one), action packed suspense and a deep background research to make it believable,
Instead, The Coil exhibits and array of cardboard characters and silly situations that quickly turn into a chaotic maelstrom and at one point one gets lost and drowns in an ocean roiled with cardboard characters, cities and situations, most of them similar in substance, (and wonders - what is the author after ?), and with this scheme the story plods along all the way to the end
In addition, language and dialogues are very poor and there is neither climate nor emotion
I thought, I just had found a lovable spy book in the line of Frederic Forsyth blockbusters but made a big mistake.
April 30, 2013
I really don't know why it took so long for me to finish this book. Gayle Lynds has everything in it that I used to love in the classic Robert Ludlum stories. We do have a highly intelligent and capable heroine, struggling with her own violent past and the secrets of her dead father the professional killer Carnivore (stupid name by the way). In addition we have a group of influential business men manipulating world events to their benefit, a kidnapping, highly explosive files and secret agents wherever you look.
I might be just missing the input from Lynd's book Masquerade, The coil is obviously some kine of sequel to it. But when I reflect on it I just don't care about Liz Sansborough and her cousin Sarah Walker. The two are so similar in their behavior that it took me occasionally some time to notice that the storytelling switched to the other woman.
It's not a badly written book, but I never caught on to it.
I might be just missing the input from Lynd's book Masquerade, The coil is obviously some kine of sequel to it. But when I reflect on it I just don't care about Liz Sansborough and her cousin Sarah Walker. The two are so similar in their behavior that it took me occasionally some time to notice that the storytelling switched to the other woman.
It's not a badly written book, but I never caught on to it.
July 19, 2016
Nice pacing. I had trouble keeping the people and story lines straight, but I am sure it was just me. The two cousins seemed too much like, their voices so simiar, I often had to look back to see who was in that situation, or where I left Liz or if I was reading about Sarah.I liked the simultaneous stories twisting around-who is good, who is evil, who is the coil, who is cronus, what are the titans, what is the cia's goal, or MI6? It finally all came together in the end.
I liked this style and was an intriguing read.
I liked this style and was an intriguing read.
May 2, 2013
The Coil continues the story of Liz Sansborough, her cousin, Sarah Walker, and Liz's assassin father, Carnivore. Liz, a university professor in Southern California is dragged back into the world of espionage and danger when an attempt is made on her life and her cousin is kidnapped while on vacation in Paris. Someone is trying to find the files of her dead father, the assassin known as Carnivore.
The plot is is full of twists.
The plot is is full of twists.
January 13, 2011
I was fortunate enough to read The Coil before it hit the shelves, an advance reading copy courtesy of Ms. Lynds herself. An excellent work, especially to those readers familiar with the characters that were featured in the preceding work, Masquerade. Personally, I find The Coil to be an even better read than the work that preceded it.
January 22, 2013
Although this book can be enjoyed without having read the author's Masquerade, I don't think it can be fully appreciated. Both are excellent stories and well-paced. The narration of The Coil is good, but I didn't care for Ms. Reading's male British accents very much. Not distracting enough to lessen the book's enjoyment, but distracting none-the-less.
May 21, 2016
The power elite
I have just recently discovered Gayle Lynde and am happily reading my way through her espionage adventures. This one involves a search for information about a secret order of world leaders . The characters are well developed, including the women, and the story is a good one.
I have just recently discovered Gayle Lynde and am happily reading my way through her espionage adventures. This one involves a search for information about a secret order of world leaders . The characters are well developed, including the women, and the story is a good one.
November 6, 2010
Following through her Liz Sansborough series. Liz is the brilliant daughter of a brilliannt assassin. Now it seems that the assassin left some records, and those incriminating records have some prominent people going after them, no holds barred.
February 19, 2008
she is an excellent writer in terms of creating suspense. I alternately can't stop reading vs turning it away because the suspense is killing me! This is an excellent break from Moby Dick!
September 7, 2019
Currently reading...it is the sequel to "Masquerade". So far, really good...will let you know when I finish what my final thought is! Along the same lines action-wise as the Bourne books by Ludlum.
March 24, 2010
Masquerade was better - while this was a decent read, the truncated story sections made it easy to put down and confusing to pick back up.
May 19, 2010
light mystery will look for more
March 29, 2011
Way too much stuff going on...Wow...so couldn't get into it nor really attach to any of the characters.
July 11, 2020
The second book in the Liz Sansborough series. Fast-paced and fun read.
January 17, 2013
Another good one. Lots of action, non-stop.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews