Intelligent, well-written, classy stuff with desperate men being pursued by desperate men in the hostile territory of Afghanistan during the recent civil war. It really is very good indeed. The author’s first novel, Lie in the Dark, won the Crime Writers’ Association First Novel award, the John Creasey, his second, The Small Boat of Great Sorrows, won the Steel Dagger for Best Thriller and this is only his third, a prize-winner too I should imagine.
'A new book by Dan Fesperman is becoming a major literary event ... Fesperman's experience as a war correspondent, together with his powers of description and characterisation, produce an utterly compelling thriller and quite simply the best book I've read all year' Susanna Yager Sunday Telegraph
...a gripping portrayal of shameless media frenzy and hopeless geopolitical gamesmanship... his detailed insider's account of war reporting will be catnip for news junkies' Publishers Weekly
'Almost alone in depicting the main theatre of war on terror, Fesperman proves equal to the challenge, producing impressive portraits of Peshawar and the mountainous borderlands' Sunday Times
'Fesperman offers a level of cultural and political nuance not always found in adventure thrillers' Booklist
Author
About Dan Fesperman
Dan Fesperman is a reporter for the Baltimore Sun and worked in its Berlin bureau during the years of civil war in former Yugoslavia, as well as in Afghanistan during the recent conflict for the paper. His first novel, Lie in the Dark, won the CWA John Creasey award for best first crime novel in 1999 and his second novel, The Small Boat of Great Sorrows, won the 2003 CWA Steel Dagger for Thriller of the Year.
