FBI
agents John Corey and his wife Kate are assigned to Yemen
to track down a high ranking Al Quaeda operative who is thought to be the
mastermind behind several deaths, including the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen
several years before. The terrorist
operates under the title “the Panther” and John and Kate are ostensibly sent
out to hunt and capture him, but John knows that this is only a front for an
assassination operation.
He and his wife set forth, though it is
felt under slight duress on his part as he has been to the Yemen before and knows that it will
not be an easy job. The sensitive
political issues within the country mean that John and Kate don’t even know who
their enemies are and even their friends (the CIA for example) can be
dangerous. Finding out who is on their
side proves the challenge and John, well versed in the forked tongues of
international conspiracy, is constantly questioning who to trust.
There is intrigue, double dealing, bangs
and crashes and a little bit of romance and humour in the narrative which
serves the storyline well.
This book is over 600 pages long and whilst
it is full of details about the Middle Eastern conflict, which could have been
more lightly covered, it is not slow or in any way a chore to read. The characters (especially that of John
Corey, whose inner monologue is mostly entertaining if occasionally overdone)
are quite nicely drawn in the writing and even the terrorists are not as two
dimensional as is regularly the case for a thriller of this type.
Blockbuster in size, but more intelligent
in depth and storyline than is normal for this genre, this is a storming read
and quite exhausting. The narrative
picks up pace in the last quarter and gallops towards a satisfying but still
nicely open ending. A good read, but, this is a heavy tome to carry around.
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Reviewer: Amanda Brown
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