In this suspenseful and atmospheric spy novel in the tradition of Graham Greene and John le Carr, Henry Bromell unfolds a labyrinthine tale of intr...
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reviews
Nov 07, 2010
Dpdwyer
rated it: 
The novel centers around Terry Hooper, who is determined to find out, post 9/11, exactly what his father did in the CIA while he and his family were living in the middle east in the 50s. This was at perhaps the beginning of the US's miscalculations in that part of the world. Terry works from newly released government documents and attempts to confirm the information with his separated parents, who are still bound by the "code of silence." The plot moves along well, the characters ar
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Aug 06, 2011
Ron
rated it: 
Bromell has only published 4 novels since he began work in the mid 70s, but many of his scripts are familiar to fans of Carnivale and Homicide and from the excellent screenplay to the film Panic. He creates a fictional kingdom in the Middle East and tells the story of the CIA lead man who is sent to curry favor with the young prince in order to secure a relationship that ensures oil profits. If you are a fan of Graham Greene, this is not to be missed!
Oct 26, 2011
Ron
rated it:
The author writes for television: Homicide: life on the Streets, Chicago Hope, I'll fly away. Here he tells a mystery story that wraps around a man's hunt for his emotionally distant father who may have had a man murdered in the service of the CIA. Bromell does a good job of evoking the paranoid American zeitgeist of the early cold war era. They story moves along well if at a moderate pace. Read it if that era and plot appeal to you.
Dec 24, 2008
Stacy
rated it:
After picking this up several times I finally had the opportunity to read it. The language is bad in places, but the historical context is fascinating. This book has heightened my interest in Middle East culture and history. It's a good story as well.
Jun 08, 2010
Nicole
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The narrative was outstandingly descriptive, successfully creating mental images that were so realistic you believed in the time and place about which Bromell was writing. I will definitely be reading more of his work.
May 07, 2009
Ginger
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Lots of interesting history of Egypt and Gamal Abdul I-Nasser's "Arab Socialism. The setting sent me on a hunt for pictures and info on the places mentioned. I also checked out some of the events that occured.
Dec 28, 2010
Bill
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"It's exhilarating, the pure positive charge of paranoia, which sometimes I think is all we've got left to grant us a universe with a plot, now that religion has abandoned us" (p. 386).
Jan 25, 2011
Dan
rated it:
For those who enjoy smart character driven espionage tales (like Le Carre, Charles McCarry) and also the works of Michael Chabon.
May 12, 2008
Featherbooks
rated it:
Excellent story of historian researching his secretive father's CIA background and involvement in the death of the young Arab king of a small mid-East country in 1958. Reminded me of the movie Syriana.
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