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Smokescreen

Khaled Talib

Discussion leader: Khaled Talib

Why we're reading this: Smokescreen is a spy thriller. Kind of like Jason Bourne meets Jet Li. Feel free to ask Author Khaled Tal…more
[close] Smokescreen is a spy thriller. Kind of like Jason Bourne meets Jet Li. Feel free to ask Author Khaled Talib your most intimate questions!

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Dec 06, 2013 Anne-Rae Vasquez rated it it was amazing

Shelves: recommended

Smokescreen is a captivating story leading readers into the genre of espionage noir, revealing a rich and colourful tale of political deception across countries and continents. The author takes the time to paint enough background for each of the main characters and then weaves the story, cutting from different perspectives like a fast paced action movie. It felt like watching a Jason Bourne film as I flipped page after page following Jet West, a journalist whose life turns upside down when secre Smokescreen is a captivating story leading readers into the genre of espionage noir, revealing a rich and colourful tale of political deception across countries and continents. The author takes the time to paint enough background for each of the main characters and then weaves the story, cutting from different perspectives like a fast paced action movie. It felt like watching a Jason Bourne film as I flipped page after page following Jet West, a journalist whose life turns upside down when secret underground organizations target him to be the scape goat as they instigate a sinister plot to assassinate the Israeli Prime Minister.

I LOVED the cultural references and colloquialisms. "Solly, lah my England nosso good" had me in belly laughs.... And the way the author described the scenes, I could picture it. Very accurate and authentic.

The story was exciting and I loved the different characters. Chan was menacing and a love to hate evil guy. Jet West and Nicole were a great couple - together but not together - lots of good chemistry.

Talib vividly paints the surroundings making it easy to picture each scene such as the opening scene where the secret political meeting takes place in a quaint cafe in Cairo. Talib's use of authentic local cultural behaviours and colloquialisms make the characters come to life. The storyline is fresh and bold and the characters' protagonists and antagonists are entertaining and intriguing.

What I thoroughly enjoyed was Talib's subtle tongue-in-cheek underlying commentary throughout the story which pokes fun at the spy world and the different cultural idiosyncrasies between the characters. If you have some familiarity with the cultures portrayed in the story, you may find yourself chuckling from time to time as I did. I felt like it was a hidden story within a story making it an even richer experience reading it.

An espionage thriller injected with splashes of humour and insight makes Smokescreen, a must read for 2014.

My rating is an easy 5/5 stars. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 30, 2021 Jeff Dawson rated it liked it · review of another edition

Not a bad read at all. Shades of James Bond, without all the flare and nifty gadgets.
Good clean read with no major issues. How refreshing!

Three and a half stars

2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 06, 2013 Yonka Emre marked it as to-read

Dec 13, 2013 Sally Ember marked it as to-read

1 like · Like

Dec 03, 2019 Khaled Talib rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

Mar 26, 2020 Khaled Talib rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

1 like · Like

Dec 05, 2013 Khaled Talib rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

Apr 10, 2014 Khaled Talib rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

2 likes · Like

Jul 11, 2014 Kelly Gkountani rated it liked it

Shelves: owned-ebook, contest-wins, 2015

1 like · Like

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