NASH FALLS introduced readers to Walter Nash, whose entire life was about to be ripped away from him in near-Shakespearean fashion, with a touch of the classic series “The Fugitive.” He reinvented himself as the unrecognizable Dillon Hope, a man fueled by revenge.

Nash lost not only the life he knew but also his beloved daughter. The person who needs to pay for all of these unforgivable deeds is the evil megalomaniac Victoria Steers, one of the deadliest and most powerful women in the world. To complete the transformation from Nash to Hope, he bulked up while in prison, shaved his head, and covered himself in tattoos. No one would be able to identify him, and now as Dillon Hope --- a bodyguard and right-hand man to wealthy businessman Rhett Temple --- he is in a position to get close enough to Steers to enact that long-overdue revenge.

"I need to repeat here what I have stated in previous reviews: David Baldacci continues to write at breakneck speed while never sacrificing quality or his lofty standards."

After landing at a Hong Kong airport, Nash and Temple are met by none other than Steers, who guns down her own emissary and threatens to lay the murder on Temple. Knowing that China would incarcerate him for the rest of his life, if not outright kill him, Temple has no choice but to accept the blackmail terms that Steers lays out. Nash and Temple are to make their way to Myanmar --- where Steers’ mother is being held against her will --- break her out, and return her safely. Even with planned transportation and personal extraction arranged, they know that Steers will have no use for them if they succeed in the rescue.

Before they begin their assignment, Nash is knocked unconscious and later finds himself bound to a chair facing Steers. She cannot make him out and considers him to be an enigma of sorts. She is assessing him, and his will is strong enough that he passes. Even though she releases him on this mission, he is still shrewd enough to know that it will be a one-way trip for him and Temple. So they set out to do what they are being blackmailed into doing while planning an escape once they are done. It will not be easy.

Accompanied by a gentleman who they pay handsomely to guide them to where Steers’ mother is being held, Nash and Temple deal with unexpected adversity. While they are able to get her to the extraction point and make their escape, they are well aware that they have foiled the plans of an evil foe who will stop at nothing to bring them down. This fuels the second half of HOPE RISES and keeps the intensity high until the end.

I will keep these details under wraps, as the driving tension for the remainder of the novel centers on the anticipation of who will get their revenge first (or at all). It is well worth the wait. I need to repeat here what I have stated in previous reviews: David Baldacci continues to write at breakneck speed while never sacrificing quality or his lofty standards.