The woman traveling from Germany to Washington, D.C. under the name “Deborah Mueller” knew she was taking a serious risk. She was set to meet with someone in the shadow of the Washington Monument but instead met her end at the hands of a dark and dangerous stranger who was whistling the Beatles tune “I Should Have Known Better.”

This fateful encounter plays an integral role in the narrative of ROBERT LUDLUM’S THE BOURNE SACRIFICE, the third Bourne novel penned by Brian Freeman, which is yet another non-stop thrill ride. One week later, Jason Bourne is stationed in Iceland; his target is the killer who calls himself Lennon. It is well-known that Bourne lost most of his memory thanks to a bullet to the head during a Treadstone mission. Lennon supposedly knows all about the parts of Bourne’s past that he forgot and holds that over him. The plan is to capture Lennon and torture that information out of him before killing him once and for all.

"THE BOURNE SACRIFICE is everything you have come to expect from a Bourne novel, and more, as one of the most complex characters in modern-day literature continues to do his thing to the delight of fans worldwide."

Bourne does indeed have his first showdown with his nemesis. Lennon claims that he, too, was once part of Treadstone, which is how he knows about Bourne. He then has his evil girlfriend, codenamed Yoko, blow up the building in which they are fighting to allow him to escape by chopper and once again elude Bourne.

Journalist Abbey Laurent is Bourne’s former lover who he has not seen in over two years. Abbey still carries a torch for him while he has kept his distance in an effort to keep her safe. She wants to cover the story of the murdered woman found near the Washington Monument for her boss, Tom Blomberg, but he is not too keen on the idea. Meanwhile, she is approached by a young woman named Iris who claims to be from some subversive group that has been following Abbey’s career, knows all about her, and feels she is ready to learn the truth about what is really going on.

Treadstone also wants Lennon alive, and Bourne’s old boss, Nash Rollins, would like to provide Bourne with whatever support he needs. He first meets Kenna Martin, a young woman who works for the publicity firm The Forster Group. Once he introduces himself to her in his subtle way and gets her to open up, he finds out that her company works with organizations like the Varak Foundation and 4Bear, a Russian software giant. Both might be tied to Lennon. Bourne then speaks to her boss, who happens to chair the Varak Foundation. The pieces of the puzzle are slowly starting to be put in place.

There are literally dozens of characters here, so be ready to keep score. We even get inside the Varak Foundation, which is located in Frankfurt, Germany, where a man named Oskar is mourning the untimely death of his friend Louisa, who traveled to the U.S. as Deborah Mueller. The book is like a spider’s web in which each character and new plotline seem to intertwine with one another, making for a true, intelligent espionage novel.

Outside of James Bond, Jason Bourne is probably the most iconic spy in all of fiction. In the hands of Brian Freeman, he is not only as alive as ever, he jumps right off the page. THE BOURNE SACRIFICE is everything you have come to expect from a Bourne novel, and more, as one of the most complex characters in modern-day literature continues to do his thing to the delight of fans worldwide.