The Medinandi License

Geologist Trace Brandon has been in Mali less than two months. He's nearly been killed twice, lost a drilling rig to a well-placed RPG, and fallen for Peace Corps volunteer Molly Wainwright. All pretty much SOP for West Africa, until his friend Gordon Watson is brutally kidnapped by Al Qaeda. Running out of time to meet the ransom demands, Trace turns to a Malian arms dealer and a French-Canadian ex-mobster for help. Together, they come up with a risky, highly illegal scheme to rescue Gordon. If the plan goes south, Trace knows he could end up in prison-or the Bamako expatriate cemetery on Rue de Dakar . . .