A previous reviewer Refers to the factthat the plot elements of "The Day Before Midnight" have been done before. Those of us who are thrillers devotees have Realized this already; the trick is to find a writer who can Take These familiarities and still keep you interested. The time-running-out-to-avoid-a-nuclear-catastrophe storyline has indeed been used, but, even though I was confident things would work out in the end, what I still glued to the pages. This was my first Stephen Hunter novel, but Certainly not my last. I can not say enough about the characterizations (I loved Walls!), The storyline, and the finale, literally a last-second cliffhanger. I can not read Clancy; He has the attitude Everyword he writes is precious. Hunter can tell the same type of story far, far better. He has taken his place with Sandford, Ridley Pearson, Joseph Finder, et al. Now that It Seems Ludlum may be done, and DeMille writing infrequently, it is wonderful to know search talents as Hunter are out there! This is one of the best books I have read in ages.
