This new book picks up with Micah Dalton the CIA cleaner as the central
character. Dalton is now living in Venice on the run from the CIA. An
assassination attempt is made on him during a marathon race in Venice.He
is nearly killed. The perpetrators are found to be a blonde woman who is posing as a runner in the marathon. She has been sent after Dalton by a
Serbian warlord named Branco Gospic. A piracy act is done on the ship
Mingo Dubai. The boat is captured by the pirates to be used later. Then
he is sent to rescue a CIA agent,Ray Fyke who is imprisoned in Changi Prison in Singapore. He is joined by another CIA agent named Mandy Pownall. There is also a mysterious ship named Orpheus. All of these combine to create a giant conspiracy. There is a final showdown with Serbian thugs in the Port of Chicago. This is a good action book that will make for good reading.

CIA cleaner Micah Dalton is still recuperating from his escapades especially the drugs he was forced to take (see THE ECHELON VENDETTA) as he continues to chat with the ghost of former peer Porter Naumann. Whereas the spirit keeps warning Micah to be cautiouns as all hell is about to break loose, Micah and his girlfriend Cora Vasari attend Naumann's funeral in Tuscany.

However, in reality, Dalton is hallucinating as he bleeds in a Venusian hospital after a female marathon runner stabbed him with a piece of glass. Serbian mob kingpin Branco Gospic had called for the hit after Dalton interfered with his operations making him look weak when he beat up two thugs. The Gospic gang also has hijacked a tanker off Indonesia killing the crew and murdered everyone who attended a party hosted by a rival. Meanwhile, Dalton receiving his next assignment, leaves the hospital, stops for some action with Cora, and accompanied by British agent Mandy Pownall goes into the field to rescue the only survivor of the tanker murders, rogue Special Air Service agent Ray Fyke, who is a guest resident of Changi Prison in Singapore.

This is a superb action thriller in which the reader needs to ignore their plausibility metric meter and instead put on their seat belt and helmet to join Dalton on his wild international caper. The story line is fast-paced from the onset even when the hero lies in a hospital bed and never slows down as blood flows except for sexual interludes. Fans who enjoy over the top thrillers will appreciate Dalton's second globalization adventure, an exciting tale impossible to put down.

Harriet Klausner

It's been a long time since I read a book where I completely lost track of time and THE ORPHEUS DECEPTION did it!!! It was so terrific that it starts where THE ECHELON VENDETTA left off.....I loved that!!! I fell 'in love' with Micah while reading David Stone's incredible, intelligent debut thriller and then even more so with this new one. What a fantastic character he is and I'm so glad that, with this new book, it has developed into a series...and what a marvelous one it is!!!! His other characters such as poor, suffering Fyke, the lethal Gospic, Mandy, Brancati, etc.....they all come to life with David Stone's marvelous words. THE ORPHEUS DECEPTION grabs you with the first page and never lets go until the riveting last page. This is a sizzling thrill ride....compelling, mesmerizing with breath-taking non-stop action!!! David Stone is the master of chapter endings....just one more...just one more....suddenly it's one in the morning!!! It's the sign of a really good book when you cannot stop thinking about it after several days of ending it and it's difficult to even start reading another book as everything seems so boring in comparison!!! It was lovely to see a softer, more gentle side of him in Micah's relationship with Cora Vasari but just as much exciting to see him in action with that lethal Kiki and Vigo....and ohhhh that ending....just the perfect 'right on' scene!!!