Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Evolution

 
MYSTERY HANGS OVER LAS VEGAS SHOOTING
 
October 9, 2019
WASHINGTON (AP)
 
Nearly one year after sixty-six people were killed in the nation s worst mass shooting incident, the FBI announced last week that it had concluded its investigation into the tragedy.  However, the agency s report, which offers no clues about the motive of the killer, seems to leave the public with more questions than answers.
 
On November 3, 2018, Charles Hackman opened fire from a room on the nineteenth floor of the Lucky Nickel hotel in downtown Las Vegas.  Targeting a crowd of more than five thousand men, women, and children gathered for an antique car show, Hackman killed or wounded dozens of people during an eighteen-minute shooting spree before being shot and killed by police.
 
Hackman, a fifty-four-year-old actuary from Summerlin, Nevada, had no prior criminal record and no history of mental illness or substance abuse.  Despite what the FBI called an exhaustive investigation of Hackman s personal background and behavior, the agency was unable to identify any political, ethnic, or religious motive behind the shooting.  The agency said it found no evidence that Hackman had been a member of any extremist organization and concluded that he acted alone.
 
But with no explanation for what caused a seemingly unremarkable man to commit the nation s worst act of mass murder, the FBI s report has prompted a flood of online conspiracy theories and accusations that the agency is covering up what really happened.  Despite attempts by social media platforms to limit the spread of fake news, millions of people have now read and shared articles suggesting without evidence that Hackman was either a jihadist recruit or the victim of a government frame-up.
 
Even the number of victims in the tragedy has become a subject of controversy.  While the official death toll was set at sixty-six in the days

Brian Freeman is the bestselling author of more than twenty novels, including the Jonathan Stride and Frost Easton series. His Audible original, The Deep, Deep Snow was #12 on the New York Times audio bestseller list. His novel, Spilled Blood, won the award for Best Hardcover Novel in the International Thriller Writers Awards, and his novel, The Burying Place, was a finalist for the same award. His debut novel, Immoral, won the Macavity Award and was a finalist for the Dagger, Edgar, Anthony, and Barry Awards for Best First Novel. Freeman lives in Minnesota with his wife.

Robert Ludlum was the author of twenty-seven novels, each one a New York Times bestseller. There are more than 225 million of his books in print, and they have been translated into thirty-two languages. He was the author of The Scarlatti Inheritance, The Chancellor Manuscript, and the Jason Bourne series--The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum--among other novels. Ludlum passed away in March 2001.

"Freeman s first Jason Bourne thriller is a treat for fans of the late Robert Ludlum." Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Freeman has a firm grasp of Bourne s tangled background, plus the skills to keep the action front and center. Bourne fans will hope for an encore from this talented author." Publishers Weekly

"Freeman, a veteran author of psychological thrillers, turns in a solid performance in this new novel featuring Robert Ludlum s Jason Bourne....He keeps Bourne very much on his toes, and he breathes new life into [the] series." Booklist