W. W. Norton & Company
Featuring: Miriam Haddad; Sam Joseph
432 pages ISBN: 1324036133 EAN: 9781324036135 Kindle: B08X8V2V7Y Paperback / e-Book (reprint) Add to Wish List
If you want a modern spy thriller, look no further than one written by a former CIA operative. DAMASCUS STATION is set during the appalling Syrian Civil War of the 2010s, when Sam Joseph is sent to try to get a mole inside the top administration at the Palace in Damascus. Neither side in the war is friendly to the Americans at the Embassy. But most people in the city just want to get on with their lives.
Mariam Haddad, aged 35, lives with her Damascus Christian family who work for the Syrian regime. President Assad is bombing his own citizens, and when her fiery cousin Razan is injured during a protest march, Mariam knows she has to find a way to fight the evil from within. Hating herself for telling a Syrian rebel in Paris that all her relatives will be arrested if she doesn’t stop speaking out, Mariam meets Sam Joseph at an Embassy dinner and decides to see if she could trust him. Sam follows the CIA line in every way, except for one; he falls in love with the KravMaga martial arts fighter Mariam.
I cannot speak for how well the people of Damascus are represented, but the cast list, which feels long at first, does encompass many points of view and affiliations. Some sides of this spy story have disloyal members, sparking hunts for traitors.
The brutal Republican Guard is involved, along with intelligence officer Ali Hassan, a potential CIA counterintelligence target. The movements of everyone at the Damascus embassy are closely watched, their personal and landline phones tapped, and Sam and Mariam have to presume they will be followed around the city and suspect if they meet.
Based on actual events, this fictional tale encompasses the reported sarin gas, tortures, and killings by militia, regime, and a squad of Russians arriving for support. DAMASCUS STATION is a heavy story. But when the continued suspense became critical from halfway through the book, I suddenly had no plans for the rest of the day other than to finish the book.
Some amusingly bureaucratic details pepper David McCloskey’s account of working for the CIA: most flights have to be made at basic fare, and hotel rooms have to be between the fourth and tenth floor for safety. The gripping DAMASCUS STATION is first in a series and the second Damascus Station book is called MOSCOW X (and expected in stores on October 3, 2023). That’s going to be next on my thriller list.
A CIA officer and his recruit arrive in war-ravaged Damascus to hunt for a killer in this page-turner that offers the "most authentic depiction of modern-day tradecraft in print." (Navy SEAL sniper and New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr).
CIA case officer Sam Joseph is dispatched to Paris to recruit Syrian Palace official Mariam Haddad. The two fall into a forbidden relationship, which supercharges Haddad’s recruitment and creates unspeakable danger when they enter Damascus to find the man responsible for the disappearance of an American spy.
But the cat and mouse chase for the killer soon leads to a trail of high-profile assassinations and the discovery of a dark secret at the heart of the Syrian regime, bringing the pair under the all-seeing eyes of Assad’s spy catcher, Ali Hassan, and his brother Rustum, the head of the feared Republican Guard. Set against the backdrop of a Syria pulsing with fear and rebellion, Damascus Station is a gripping thriller that offers a textured portrayal of espionage, love, loyalty, and betrayal in one of the most difficult CIA assignments on the planet.
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy