Cobra by Frederick Forsyth
Paul Devereux is a retired spy. Because of his cold and solitary character, he is known to his former colleagues as the Cobra. It is to this man that the White House turns, when, after a tragic incident brings the President in brief contact with a member of his staff who's also "descended from slaves," he decides to take on the Colombian cocaine cartel, and end the trade for good.
While the white powder poisons users on every continent, it generates billions for the Colombian Don, as well as for powerful North American and European gangsters. Devereux takes time to consider whether and how this pernicious trade can be destroyed, then says yes to the White House and embarks on the most dangerous operation of his life.
Descended from a family of Boston Brahmins, Paul Devereux has an impeccable education, a liking for classical music and a brilliant analytical brain. An ascetic, even fastidious man, he is driven by his powerful patriotism and his devout Catholicism.
For the director of operations, he selects Dexter, a very different character and the only man who has ever outwitted him. Can they win? Will the British help with the mission? What will be the costs? These are some of the dramatic questions Forsyth uses to keep the reader (or listener) guessing through this hallmark Forsyth thriller.
Besides its dramatic virtuosity, one aspect of this book I particularly enjoyed was the narrator's occasional subtle insertion into the story of what I imagined to be his own sense of wonder and dismay at the insane way humans in power run the world.