Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Revenge

Freeman’s rip-roaring eighth Jason Bourne adventure (after The Bourne Escape) 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. Sleek, action-packed, and just steamy enough, this is espionage fiction at its most fun. Agent: Deobrah Gelfman, Gelfman Schneider. (Jan.)

Correction: A previous version of this review misidentified the novel as the author’s seventh book in the series. The review has been further updated.