Publisher's Weekly
British Army Major Harry Maxim has just completed Resistance training in preparation against a possible Russian military action on England, when suddenly the President of the U.S. is shot at in London by somebody using a Russian rifle. When there is no official response to this provocative act, Maxim takes the reconnaissance initiative. With the initially half-hearted help of his friend George Harbinger of the ministry of defense, he sets out to track down the originators of the assassination attempt. He comes to suspect early on that the act was neither perpetrated by the Russians nor actually aimed at the President, and the trail which leads him to the Crocus List and its secret operations takes him from London to Washington, St. Louis and East Berlin. This third adventure featuring the immensely likable Major (after The Secret Servant and The Conduct of Major Maxim) brims with intelligence and spirit. It's an irrepressible, entertaining and thought-provoking jaunt through the ins and outs of the international espionage trade. U.K. rights: Hodder & Stoughton; tranaslation rights: Literistic. January

Library Journal
In spydom, a basic principle is to follow instructions andif you are Major Harry Maximfollow your gut instinct. An ace spy, Harry witnesses an assassination in Westminster Abbey. Despite official tut-tutting, Harry's gut feelings draw him down the crocus path to find an astonishing mutant of a long-abolished secret service unit. Enlisting a bureaucrat and a U.S.-based fellow spy, Maxim races to block the plot, all the while dodging interference from the CIA, KGB, FBI, and his own British establishment. The fate of Berlin, the life of the archbishop of Canterbury, and the normal assortment of close calls and dead bodies are woven with a lively regard for suspense and realistic detail. This third appearance of Maxim is highly polished and will trigger expectations to hear more about this spy with a conscience. Barbara Conaty, Medical Coll. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee