The Bourne revenge

Freeman's rip-roaring seventh Jason Bourne adventure (after The Bourne Vendetta) opens eight years before the present day, when Bourne, on a Treadstone mission, witnesses Chinese assassins committing a murder and then loses four days of short-term memory. Now, Shadow--Bourne's former partner and the current head of Treadstone--wants him to undergo regression therapy. Shadow explains that the Chinese have a powerful agent in the U.S., and the only thing Treadstone knows about him is his code name, Bai Ze. Using AI software, Shadow has learned that, during the four-day gap in Bourne's memory, he crossed paths with Bai Ze in the small town of Fish Creek, Wis. Soon, Bourne is back in the Midwest trailing his quarry and trying to stay alive as he puzzles out the mystery of his amnesia. Aiding him in his search is Wisconsin journalist Laney Reese, who's guarding a game-changing secret of her own. Readers will cheer Freeman's return to form after a bumpy previous outing. Sleek, action-packed, and just steamy enough, this is espionage fiction at its most fun. Agent: Deobrah Gelfman, Gelfman Schneider. (Jan.)

Jason Bourne wants revenge while his Chinese adversaries want dominance in this high-powered thriller. Johanna, a woman Bourne loved, has been murdered, and he longs for payback. Meanwhile, as an agent for Treadstone, he's stolen "the Files," a Chinese AI software engine that collects trillions of data points on just about everything and will convey unlimited power to its possessor. The Chinese want it back, of course, and Bai Ze intends to get it. He's an agent for the Chinese espionage group Volt Typhoon, which spies in the U.S. Strangely, there is only one irreplaceable copy--what, no backups? Now Shadow, the woman who heads Treadstone, has wrested the Files from Bourne to ruthlessly amass power for Treadstone. As his fans know, Bourne is a man without a past, as he was shot in the head and lost all memory, even of his own identity. Shadow uses him as her "personal agent for off-the-books missions," and relishes her power over him. She has him see therapist Mo Panov to regress him and try to unlock his earlier memories, while Bourne frets that someone has been manipulating his mind. Poor Jason's life is chock-full of trouble, as Treadstone owns him and bad guys want to kill him. He has plenty of sex with his boss, but only when she's her alter ego, Marlen. She's not his only sex partner, though, which angers her. He can't resist a damsel in distress, and they can't resist him. But back to business. Jason must find Bai Ze, whose identity is unknown. Volt Typhoon agents intend to hunt Bourne down, torture him into giving up the Files, and then, of course, kill him. "You can run, Jason, but you can't hide," says a billionaire who's been surveilling him. Readers will barely have time to catch a breath with the nearly nonstop action. What keeps Bourne going is that he "never trusted anyone," including Shadow. "That was what kept him alive." A fast-moving story where Bourne is chased but not chaste. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.