James Patterson. First U.S. edition, first printing. Dust Jacket: Near Fine. An unclipped jacket in a mylar protective wrapper. Jacket designed by the amazing Paul Bacon. Hardcover: Near Fine. New York: Simon and Shuster, 1986. No writing or markings in this well preserved book, 365 pp. A terrific copy of this scarce early Patterson. Has the appropriate full number line starting with 1 to 10 denoting a first.
This was the authors third novel. His first, The Thomas Berryman Number, won him an Edgar Award at the age of 28. His second book, Virgin, also had great success and he did not disappoint with this exciting story about Wall Street. Not bad for a guy whose first book was rejected 31 times!
While Patterson's thriller is slightly out-of-date with its Cold War setting, it still remains dramatically contemporary in its vision of a stock market thrown into chaos when a group of saboteurs blows up several Wall Street institutions. Arch Carroll, head of the CIA's antiterrorist division, and Caitlin Dylan, director of enforcement for the SEC, team up professionally, and later romantically, to locate the Wall Street terrorists before they strike again.
