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The Desert Contract
Investment counselor Steve Kemp—in an attempt to rebuild his finances, restore his integrity, and steer clear of politics—returns after a decade to the Arabian Gulf. There he reconnects by chance with his old flame Helen, their love affair reignites, and together they stumble into a shared crisis. Now married to an older man, a diplomat in a punishment posting at the end of his career, Helen is torn between loyalty and desire. Kemp is focused on financing their he needs a major sale. With Helen's husband's unwitting help, the perfect client appears. But time has run out. Jihadists seeping back across the desert shake the country. The regime cracks. And everyone looks to their own escape plans, while Kemp chases his deal as far as he must. A gripping novel of love and loyalties, and the place where personal integrity and politics meet, The Desert Contract is a remarkable debut.
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First published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 7, 2008
This is a first novel so I want to be charitable. It's a thriller set mainly in an imaginery saudi Arabia which is falling apart where Shi'ites mount an unsuccessful coup, Islamic extremists regularly carry out suicide bombings and members of the Royal family are bailing out.
Steven Kemp, a failed businessman, is trying to resuurect his career selling financial services to Saudis trying to get their money out. He meets a former lover, the flame-haired Irish lass Helen, she of the full yet not heavy breasts, now married to U.S. diplomat Harry who is many years her senior.
The predicable happens: Steven and Helen have an affair which begins when they are trapped in an apartment block that has been taken over by rebels fighting the government which is then besieged by security forces.
For me, the best kind of fiction is where the characters leap off the page. Here unfortunately, they mainly lie down on the page. The principals seem tired and jaded and one never really believes in them or cares about them. The most vivid character is the author's vision of Saudi Arabia itself -- bleak, scalding hot, scary, narrow-minded, dangerous and unpredictable. It's that setting that makes this book worth the effort. One hopes the author learns from his rookie experience and has another book in him -- this time with more realistic and sympathetic protagonists.
Steven Kemp, a failed businessman, is trying to resuurect his career selling financial services to Saudis trying to get their money out. He meets a former lover, the flame-haired Irish lass Helen, she of the full yet not heavy breasts, now married to U.S. diplomat Harry who is many years her senior.
The predicable happens: Steven and Helen have an affair which begins when they are trapped in an apartment block that has been taken over by rebels fighting the government which is then besieged by security forces.
For me, the best kind of fiction is where the characters leap off the page. Here unfortunately, they mainly lie down on the page. The principals seem tired and jaded and one never really believes in them or cares about them. The most vivid character is the author's vision of Saudi Arabia itself -- bleak, scalding hot, scary, narrow-minded, dangerous and unpredictable. It's that setting that makes this book worth the effort. One hopes the author learns from his rookie experience and has another book in him -- this time with more realistic and sympathetic protagonists.
August 31, 2016
This novel is the equivalent of a good made-for-TV movie. It's set in an intriguing part of the world - the Arabian Gulf (mostly, although we do travel to Turkish Cyprus briefly). It sets a good, sometimes cracking, pace. The characters are interesting in a broadly painted kind of way. There's affairs, big money, a little violence (well contexted and not gratuitous), intrigue, plot twists and turns, and good dialogue.
It's a little cookpot of light reading with some spice added in. I didn't fall in love with any of the characters, but I didn't hate anybody either. The storyline was basically believable, and it moved along at a solid pace, sometimes jumping whole sequences in a single bound, other times down to a crawl. The setting was descriptively brought to life, and made me never want to visit or find myself in that part of the world.
A good Sunday afternoon or lazy holiday book where you don't want to be tested on too many levels, but you want to have your interest piqued and maintained.
It's a little cookpot of light reading with some spice added in. I didn't fall in love with any of the characters, but I didn't hate anybody either. The storyline was basically believable, and it moved along at a solid pace, sometimes jumping whole sequences in a single bound, other times down to a crawl. The setting was descriptively brought to life, and made me never want to visit or find myself in that part of the world.
A good Sunday afternoon or lazy holiday book where you don't want to be tested on too many levels, but you want to have your interest piqued and maintained.
May 4, 2010
Set in the Arabian Gulf, Contract is a romantic, espionage, thriller novel. After more than a decade Steven Kemp and Helen resume a liaison while their building is being attacked by Saudi terrorists. But are they terrorists or are they freedom fighters? And what is the difference. They survive the siege and continue their affair under the nose of her diplomat husband. Harry is a a commercial attaché at the American Embassy. It is an interesting look a expat culture. But the novel is too wide sweeping to maintain coherency. The book needed serious editing.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews