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A Thomas Laker Thriller #1
The Honorable Traitors
THE UNKNOWN SPY
Officially, Thomas Laker is an employee of the NSA. His real employer, known as the Gray Outfit, is not listed—anywhere. When a Washington, D.C., insider is killed in a bomb explosion, Laker teams up with cryptographer Ava North on a desperate search for clues. The only thing certain is that another act of terrorism is imminent. Delving into the dangerous past when America was drawn into global conflict, they discover one of history’s greatest—and deadliest—secrets. In the wrong hands it can unleash unimaginable destruction. Now, to keep his homeland from plunging into its darkest hour, Laker will have to defend everything he believes in…
Officially, Thomas Laker is an employee of the NSA. His real employer, known as the Gray Outfit, is not listed—anywhere. When a Washington, D.C., insider is killed in a bomb explosion, Laker teams up with cryptographer Ava North on a desperate search for clues. The only thing certain is that another act of terrorism is imminent. Delving into the dangerous past when America was drawn into global conflict, they discover one of history’s greatest—and deadliest—secrets. In the wrong hands it can unleash unimaginable destruction. Now, to keep his homeland from plunging into its darkest hour, Laker will have to defend everything he believes in…
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 30, 2018
About the author
John Lutz
236 books302 followersLibrarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
John Lutz has captivated suspense enthusiasts for over four decades. He has been one of the premier voices in contemporary hard-boiled fiction. His work includes political suspense, private eye novels, urban suspense, humor, occult, crime caper, police procedural, espionage, historical, futuristic, amateur detective, thriller; virtually every mystery sub-genre. John Lutz published his first short story in 1966 in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and has been publishing regularly ever since. He is the author of more than fifty novels and 250 short stories and articles.
His novels and short fiction have been translated into virtually every language and adapted for almost every medium. He is a past president of both Mystery Writers of America and Private Eye Writers of America. Among his awards are the MWA Edgar, the PWA Shamus, The Trophee 813 Award for best mystery short story collection translated into the French language, the PWA Life Achievement Award, and the Short Mystery Fiction Society's Golden Derringer Lifetime Achievement Award.
He is the author of two private eye series, the Nudger series, set in his home town of St. Louis, and the Carver series, set in Florida, as well as many non-series suspense novels. His SWF SEEKS SAME was made into the hit movie SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, starring Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh, and his novel THE EX was made into the HBO original movie of the same title, for which he co-authored the screenplay.
Lutz and his wife, Barbara, split their time between St. Louis and Sarasota, Florida.
John Lutz has captivated suspense enthusiasts for over four decades. He has been one of the premier voices in contemporary hard-boiled fiction. His work includes political suspense, private eye novels, urban suspense, humor, occult, crime caper, police procedural, espionage, historical, futuristic, amateur detective, thriller; virtually every mystery sub-genre. John Lutz published his first short story in 1966 in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and has been publishing regularly ever since. He is the author of more than fifty novels and 250 short stories and articles.
His novels and short fiction have been translated into virtually every language and adapted for almost every medium. He is a past president of both Mystery Writers of America and Private Eye Writers of America. Among his awards are the MWA Edgar, the PWA Shamus, The Trophee 813 Award for best mystery short story collection translated into the French language, the PWA Life Achievement Award, and the Short Mystery Fiction Society's Golden Derringer Lifetime Achievement Award.
He is the author of two private eye series, the Nudger series, set in his home town of St. Louis, and the Carver series, set in Florida, as well as many non-series suspense novels. His SWF SEEKS SAME was made into the hit movie SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, starring Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh, and his novel THE EX was made into the HBO original movie of the same title, for which he co-authored the screenplay.
Lutz and his wife, Barbara, split their time between St. Louis and Sarasota, Florida.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 15, 2019
When Ava North's grandmother makes it public that she is leaving something 'special' to her, no one had any idea that she would be murdered because of it. Grandmother Tilly had been around for a very long time .... personally knowing the past 5 presidents. Was she killed because of what she knew? Whatever the gift was .. it went up in flames when a bomb was leashed upon the storage when she entered.
Thomas Laker, somewhat a super agent with a mysterious government agency, teams up with Ava to investigate the death of her grandmother. What they discover is one of history’s greatest—and deadliest—secrets. In the wrong hands it can unleash unimaginable destruction.
This thriller is just that ... filled with thrills and chills. The action is nonstop leading to an unpredictable explosive ending. The characters are well defined, if not exactly credible. The bad guy does things that will have you scratching your head. Although a really good writer, this one just didn't measure up to the Frank Quinn series.
Many thanks to the the author / Kensington Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this political thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
Thomas Laker, somewhat a super agent with a mysterious government agency, teams up with Ava to investigate the death of her grandmother. What they discover is one of history’s greatest—and deadliest—secrets. In the wrong hands it can unleash unimaginable destruction.
This thriller is just that ... filled with thrills and chills. The action is nonstop leading to an unpredictable explosive ending. The characters are well defined, if not exactly credible. The bad guy does things that will have you scratching your head. Although a really good writer, this one just didn't measure up to the Frank Quinn series.
Many thanks to the the author / Kensington Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this political thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
December 29, 2017
I stopped reading this book around the 70 page mark. It was unbearable. I usually give a book 100 pages before I DNF(Did not finish) , but The Honorable Traitors would have to be an exception. The characters are undeveloped and amateurish for this to be an adult book. It was almost as if they were teenagers stuck in adult bodies. The writing is terrible and is almost trying to hard to make the characters younger than they are. There is insta-love after a day and a half which gets in the way of the plot of the story. The characters are constantly thinking about the other and it was so annoying. A lot of the decisions made were not realistic at all and things were very convenient for the characters. Ana is a complete stereotypical ditz and just walks into trouble. Gets chased by someone who wants to kill her and instead of going inside and staying off the street when she escapes she decides to go back into her car to discover more “clues” for the mystery of her grandmother’s death. How Thomas Laker can just walk up to someone he doesn’t know and get personal information from them without the other person wondering why someone random is asking these questions is questionable. This entire book is poorly done and very predictable. How this book is by a number one best selling author is more of a mystery to me.
January 1, 2018
This book nearly didn’t make it past my hundred-page rule, whereby if I am not thoroughly engrossed in a book within the first 100 pages, I can stop reading it. It’s not that the book got any better the closer I got to page 100, but the cold snap that has blanketed the US this New Year’s Day has also hit southeast Texas. I was snuggled quite comfortably on my couch under some nice warm blankets with a cat happily purring on my chest, and I just couldn’t stand to leave my cozy nest to get another book, so I slogged through it, although in retrospect, I sincerely miss the 3.5 hours of my life I will never get back.
Okay, this book is just plain stupid. Given that it is the second John Lutz book I’ve read that is unbearably stupid, his next one better be a home run or he’s out of the game. Within the first few pages you have a little old lady killed by a bomb when she is inexplicably allowed to leave her escort in a car to toddle by herself into an old garden shed to pick up some kind of secret something she is leaving to her granddaughter. This despite the fact, that she is considered to know so many dangerous secrets about the Washington elite, that the head of a top, top secret shadow agency assigns his best “consultant” to drive her there because of concerns about the woman’s safety.
Despite the concerns, when the old lady announces that she will go into the shed alone, this supposed brilliant intelligence “consultant” lets her go off, pushing her walker into oblivion. After the dust settles, this consultant and the old lady’s beautiful granddaughter, who happens to be an NSA agent, decide they need to go to Hawaii, from whence Grandma came to see if they can solve the riddle of this mysterious bequest, which was blown to bits along with Grandma.
Ultra-Security Dude exercises all kinds of precautions on the flight to Hawaii—arriving at the airport separately from NSA Eye Candy, sitting in Tourist while she sits in First Class, although they meet up outside the bathroom and settle down into some empty seats in Tourist for a lovely tête-à-tête before splitting up to head to their respective seats before the plane lands lest anyone see them together and get suspicious. Their ruse continues as they each take separate rental cars, Dude to do some investigating and Eye Candy to check into the hotel and THEN do some investigating. When she leaves the hotel, she deliberately and inexplicably decides to leave her phone behind. She ignores a car that is blatantly following her and is totally NOT suspicious when she returns to her car after a short excursion and finds it unlocked. Even when she gets into the car and finds the glove compartment open, she is not alarmed.
Of course, she ends up in trouble at the side of the road when the person who is following her, who seems to be the only competent person in the entire book, pulls up behind her parked car when she gets out to look at a road sign. She is so spooked that she runs into the Hawaiian jungle, pursued by the stranger who may not be as competent as I thought, because after she falls into a raging stream and is swept down river, he drops the chase and disappears. She manages to grab a low-hanging branch and pull herself out of the stream and makes her way back to her car. Amazingly, she managed to keep ahold of her purse during her entire jungle and shooting the rapids experience.
I’m sorry to have to tell you that the book goes downhill from there. The actual secret that Grandma hid for more than 50 years ended up being as dumb as the people in this book. However, since I know how much people hate spoilers, I won’t bore you with the details. My strong advice to you is to find a better way to occupy three hours of your time than trying to get through this book. Otherwise you will surely regret it.
Okay, this book is just plain stupid. Given that it is the second John Lutz book I’ve read that is unbearably stupid, his next one better be a home run or he’s out of the game. Within the first few pages you have a little old lady killed by a bomb when she is inexplicably allowed to leave her escort in a car to toddle by herself into an old garden shed to pick up some kind of secret something she is leaving to her granddaughter. This despite the fact, that she is considered to know so many dangerous secrets about the Washington elite, that the head of a top, top secret shadow agency assigns his best “consultant” to drive her there because of concerns about the woman’s safety.
Despite the concerns, when the old lady announces that she will go into the shed alone, this supposed brilliant intelligence “consultant” lets her go off, pushing her walker into oblivion. After the dust settles, this consultant and the old lady’s beautiful granddaughter, who happens to be an NSA agent, decide they need to go to Hawaii, from whence Grandma came to see if they can solve the riddle of this mysterious bequest, which was blown to bits along with Grandma.
Ultra-Security Dude exercises all kinds of precautions on the flight to Hawaii—arriving at the airport separately from NSA Eye Candy, sitting in Tourist while she sits in First Class, although they meet up outside the bathroom and settle down into some empty seats in Tourist for a lovely tête-à-tête before splitting up to head to their respective seats before the plane lands lest anyone see them together and get suspicious. Their ruse continues as they each take separate rental cars, Dude to do some investigating and Eye Candy to check into the hotel and THEN do some investigating. When she leaves the hotel, she deliberately and inexplicably decides to leave her phone behind. She ignores a car that is blatantly following her and is totally NOT suspicious when she returns to her car after a short excursion and finds it unlocked. Even when she gets into the car and finds the glove compartment open, she is not alarmed.
Of course, she ends up in trouble at the side of the road when the person who is following her, who seems to be the only competent person in the entire book, pulls up behind her parked car when she gets out to look at a road sign. She is so spooked that she runs into the Hawaiian jungle, pursued by the stranger who may not be as competent as I thought, because after she falls into a raging stream and is swept down river, he drops the chase and disappears. She manages to grab a low-hanging branch and pull herself out of the stream and makes her way back to her car. Amazingly, she managed to keep ahold of her purse during her entire jungle and shooting the rapids experience.
I’m sorry to have to tell you that the book goes downhill from there. The actual secret that Grandma hid for more than 50 years ended up being as dumb as the people in this book. However, since I know how much people hate spoilers, I won’t bore you with the details. My strong advice to you is to find a better way to occupy three hours of your time than trying to get through this book. Otherwise you will surely regret it.
December 16, 2020
Thomas Laker is an employee of the NSA, but his real work is done in the shadows. After a tragedy claims the life of a woman with deep ties to the federal government, Thomas works with her granddaughter to decipher the clues that the older woman left behind. Will the search for the truth end up destroying the pair?
When it comes down to it, there are a lot of smoke and mirrors to The Honorable Traitors, but not much by way of story. The movie worthy chase scenes and fighting sequences are entertaining, which makes the 300+ pages fly by, but the plot itself can be broken down into few words. Overall, I like Thomas Laker and I would not turn down the opportunity to read more about him, especially given the fact that the author has let out few clues to the man's character. The shadowy criminal element has skills and knowledge that are questionable, which does diminish the book a bit.
Readers who like mystery thrillers will like the pacing and the characters, though they should suspend belief regarding some of the elements of the plot.
Disclaimer: Pinnacle Books and NetGalley provided me with an Advanced Reader's Copy of The Honorable Traitors. The choice to review this book was my own.
When it comes down to it, there are a lot of smoke and mirrors to The Honorable Traitors, but not much by way of story. The movie worthy chase scenes and fighting sequences are entertaining, which makes the 300+ pages fly by, but the plot itself can be broken down into few words. Overall, I like Thomas Laker and I would not turn down the opportunity to read more about him, especially given the fact that the author has let out few clues to the man's character. The shadowy criminal element has skills and knowledge that are questionable, which does diminish the book a bit.
Readers who like mystery thrillers will like the pacing and the characters, though they should suspend belief regarding some of the elements of the plot.
Disclaimer: Pinnacle Books and NetGalley provided me with an Advanced Reader's Copy of The Honorable Traitors. The choice to review this book was my own.
February 16, 2018
I would like to thank Goodreads for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. John Lutz has written a novel that takes the r Adler from Hawaii in 1941to modern day Washington DC. The murder of Tillie North, a Washington insider who grew up in Hawaii and once worked for Naval Intelligence, is investigated by her granddaughter Ava and Thomas Laker, an agent of the Gray Outfit, part of the NSA. A journal that Ava received after Tillie’s death provides the first clues as they are pursued by Tillie’s murderer, who also wants the journal.
This is a fast paced novel that involves double agents, a mole and an opponent who changes appearance and personalities as easily as most people change clothes. Laker has a military background and should appeal to thriller fans. Ava is a cryptographer whose job is to decipher the journal and point the way for their investigation. There is a good deal of violence, very little of which is graphic, and a final chase to avert a nuclear attack.
Lutz concludes his story with no loose ends. While not always believable, it does provide an entertaining read.
This is a fast paced novel that involves double agents, a mole and an opponent who changes appearance and personalities as easily as most people change clothes. Laker has a military background and should appeal to thriller fans. Ava is a cryptographer whose job is to decipher the journal and point the way for their investigation. There is a good deal of violence, very little of which is graphic, and a final chase to avert a nuclear attack.
Lutz concludes his story with no loose ends. While not always believable, it does provide an entertaining read.
August 12, 2018
So, let me start off by saying that I was super disappointed that there was not a new Frank Quinn novel this summer...BUT this was a great start to a new series. It is so completely different from the usual books that author John Lutz writes, but I did enjoy it and will read the next one in the series. This is about the government, the black ops that we supposedly do not have...and the way that they work their magic to save the everyday people from death or worse.
The characters are compelling, you can't help but love Laker from the start - his wit, his life, his "Lucky"-ness. You root for him no matter what the situation and you actually feel sorry for him when he is bested. You become his #1 fan in a matter of chapters and are glued to the book to see what is going to happen next. While the death scenes are different and not as mysterious, this series is good. It's just a change from what we have come to know and love by this author.
Get this book and be prepared to become hooked. You won't want to do anything else once you start reading this one!
The characters are compelling, you can't help but love Laker from the start - his wit, his life, his "Lucky"-ness. You root for him no matter what the situation and you actually feel sorry for him when he is bested. You become his #1 fan in a matter of chapters and are glued to the book to see what is going to happen next. While the death scenes are different and not as mysterious, this series is good. It's just a change from what we have come to know and love by this author.
Get this book and be prepared to become hooked. You won't want to do anything else once you start reading this one!
January 30, 2018
Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com
2.25 Hearts So what to say about this book? Not much. I really didn’t enjoy this book at all. The characters just didn’t connect with me. Something is just off. They seem so immature for what is supposed to be their ages.
The writing is not great either. I usually enjoy Lutz’s writing but not this time. I really had a hard time finishing this book and a number of times wondered if I should just put it down and start something I would enjoy. I didn’t but the feelings never changed.
Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
2.25 Hearts So what to say about this book? Not much. I really didn’t enjoy this book at all. The characters just didn’t connect with me. Something is just off. They seem so immature for what is supposed to be their ages.
The writing is not great either. I usually enjoy Lutz’s writing but not this time. I really had a hard time finishing this book and a number of times wondered if I should just put it down and start something I would enjoy. I didn’t but the feelings never changed.
Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
January 30, 2018
Versatile veteran John Lutz turns to a new genre for him, the spy thriller, and produces a winner. His hero Thomas Laker is cool, tough, and deadly. He's allied with a beautiful NSA code breaker whose wealthy and powerful family has secrets that endanger not just her life but the nation. They set out on an exciting quest for answers that takes them across the country and deep into the past. They're up against a ruthless enemy whose origins and motives are a complete mystery. Even his appearance changes every time he appears. The solution to the mystery is a shocker. The revelation scene absolutely stunned me. The writing is as stylish as the plotting is ingenious.
June 1, 2018
Thomas Laker is an unofficial spy. He works for the Gray outfit, no known address.
Ava North, who is a cryptographer, and Thomas Laker start working together to figure out who killed her grandmother with a bomb. Her grandmother was a mover and shaker in Washington D.C.
The path leads them to the past in Pearl Harbor, seeking clues as fast as possible. Hopefully, before another terrorist act takes places. The discover a very deadly secret, which could put the US at great risk. High action spy thriller.
Ava North, who is a cryptographer, and Thomas Laker start working together to figure out who killed her grandmother with a bomb. Her grandmother was a mover and shaker in Washington D.C.
The path leads them to the past in Pearl Harbor, seeking clues as fast as possible. Hopefully, before another terrorist act takes places. The discover a very deadly secret, which could put the US at great risk. High action spy thriller.
February 4, 2019
Laker is a great protagonist
I’ve been a fan of John Lutz since I read the Nudger series and if you haven’t read those I highly recommend them. Fred Carver was good too. Laker is in the same class as Nudger. The story is well plotted and fast paced. I also enjoyed the Ava North character. I hope she becomes a regular in the series as she is bright, sassy and a great complement to Laker. Thanks for a new series I can look forward too.
I’ve been a fan of John Lutz since I read the Nudger series and if you haven’t read those I highly recommend them. Fred Carver was good too. Laker is in the same class as Nudger. The story is well plotted and fast paced. I also enjoyed the Ava North character. I hope she becomes a regular in the series as she is bright, sassy and a great complement to Laker. Thanks for a new series I can look forward too.
August 28, 2019
Ugh I really wanted this book to be better. It had all the makings... a cool and unconventional start, links to geography and history of Hawaii, espionage. But it fell short. So as much as I wanted this to be more than the “10 cent paperback” grocery aisle read it seemed to be, it didn’t stack up to be much more than that. Poor writing, a convenient and unnecessary romance that just detracts from the story and a pile of stacked cliches make this a boring 3 hour read.
November 14, 2021
Thomas Laker a special agent from the Gray Outfit is an idiot that deserve to have is ass kicked. All through the book he had many chances to defeat and kill the “ShapeShifter” but miss them all. I kept reading the book hoping that it would get better but nothing changed. This book is boring to read and it look as if the author did not put any efforts in creating something interesting and challenging to read.
November 18, 2020
Excellent
Superb read for readers who want to escape into a different world .John Lutz is one of those authors who draws the reader into the lives of the characters ,I wasn't here on a wet Tuesday in Yorkshire but in the USA with Ava and co chasing the bad guy .Thoroughly enjoyable read and I will look forward to the next one
Superb read for readers who want to escape into a different world .John Lutz is one of those authors who draws the reader into the lives of the characters ,I wasn't here on a wet Tuesday in Yorkshire but in the USA with Ava and co chasing the bad guy .Thoroughly enjoyable read and I will look forward to the next one
February 14, 2018
I have read many books by John Lutz, but they were all Mysteries. This is the first book that he's written I think that starts to deal with more espionage. I think it was well done it took us into the past a time that we should remember and I enjoyed the book.
November 7, 2025
Action-packed, some historical background. The deranged perp is chased over half the world. If only the "unbeatable" special agent pursuing him hadn't lost every single enciunter with the villain! So, N.Y. is saved by chance.
December 17, 2017
I have been a huge John Lutz fan for years! The Honorable Traitors did not disappoint! I loved it.
October 1, 2018
Stock characters in a stock story. Very bland. Predictable.
March 7, 2019
Really enjoyed the new character. It's been a while since the Frank Quinn series and glad to see Lutz back.
August 22, 2020
Good spy novel.
July 3, 2025
good readz the ending could have been better
August 13, 2025
2.5 stars
August 22, 2025
Good story
wish-list-possibles
January 30, 2019Two books in this series. The second just came out in paperback only
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews