Inside Out by Barry Eisler

Ulrich stared at Clements, wanting to believe he'd misheard. Even in the grand panoply of CIA incompetence, this one would be a standout.

"Let me get this straight," he said, deliberately speaking slowly and clearly so Clements and the rest of the Langley contingent assembled before him would understand exactly what Ulrich made of their collective mental acuity. "Ninety-two interrogation videotapes, and you're telling me they're just… missing?"

Title: Inside Out
Author: Barry Eisler
ISBN: 9780345505101
Publisher: Ballantine Books/2010
Pages: 368

In Inside Out, Ben Treven, first introduced in Fault Line, reappears. Treven has landed himself into a Manila Jail, after a Burgos Street bar brawl. The jail is so dark, crowded and unknown, that Ben finds himself in a soup with no rescue in sight. However, Colonel Scott Horton, chief of Ben's secret unit, tracks him down. He offers Ben freedom in exchange of something very big. Now Hort had tried to kill Ben and his brother, Alex in Fault Line. Ben does not whether he should trust Hort or not.

Ninety-two tape recordings documenting the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques on terrorists”/“torture on people of interest” by U.S. personnel have gone missing. And can create utter chaos if released in the public domain. The man who has them, Daniel Larison, is infact a former member of Ben's unit. He is supposedly deceased and has his reasons for going the opposite way. He has a secret life and needs money to lead that life. He is demanding $100 million in diamonds.

Treven finds himself in an unwanted partnership with an FBI agent, Paula Lanier, who is not what she appears to be. They plan how to catch hiold of Larison and recover the tapes from him. But there are people with their own interests, who can go either way to further those. Ben doesn't find Daniel to be the rogue that he is made out to be. Ben Treven also understands that he is own his own, with no support from anyone and has to find the right path to get out of it.

In Ben Treven, Eisler has created another memorable character as John Rain. With complicated plots and sub plots, the novel is a great ride and we are with Ben all the way. The pace is very good and it is a start to finish novel. Barry Eisler does not disappoint us at any point.