The demand for relentless action in a Ludlum thriller does not favor deep or intense character study. In The Cry of the Halidon only the protagonist, Alexander McAuliff, is given more than a cursory description. Most of the plot follows his point of view. Only sporadically does the story present events from another character's perspective, mainly to increase the suspense by allowing the reader a look behind the scenes.

This simple but effective method accentuates the web of intrigue which surrounds the hero. Of all seven members of the survey team, only McAuliff s old friend, Sam Tucker, does not seem to have a secret agenda for coming to Jamaica. Among the others, the pretty and ambitious Alison Booth, who becomes McAuliff's inevitable love interest, is on the run from Interpol after being entrapped by them in a manner that resembles McAuliff's experience with MI5. The Jensens, an...