レビュー要約

• 時事性の強い舞台設定と緊迫した展開、政府機密に踏み込むスリラー性が高く評価されている。

レビュー

• Top notch espionage

  Interesting story here about Guantanamo and its various inhabitants: the detainees, the marines the security services and the rivalries between the latter. It's not a trail of endless bodies and action sequences but a more cerebral story capturing the oddities of this American base on Cuba.

• Slow Start But Becomes A Page Turner

  The FBI sends Agent Revere Falk to Guantanamino Bay as an Arabic translator since he is proficient in communicating in that language. His specific assignment involves a Yemeni prisoner Adnan with questionable ties to al-Qaeda. However, his efforts to break Adnan halts at least for now when the corpse of an American NCO washes onto beach on the Cuban side of the barrier. Pressure mounts on Falk to finish his investigation immediately as the military wants this incident to go away. Other demands also rise from a surprising local source that knows of Falk's indiscretions (double agent) as a young marine years ago. Though he keeps digging, hints of culpability are tossed at him like Improvised Explosive Devices as someone like him must take the fall; rank has its privileges nor will it be those connected. This is a terrific thriller that provides readers with an insightful look at Gitmo from what seems an insider's perspective. The descriptions are so detailed and powerful. The prime investigation plot and the fascination with the prison is the star draw. Fans will appreciate this deep look at Guantanamano Bay inside a fine whodunit or perhaps better said is a fine whodunit inside a deep prison tour. This story is excellently written. It balances well character, plot, tone, tension, foreshadowing, and resolution. Its tension depends on the reader's belief that the FBI hero's investigation into a probable homicide could be undermined from "above"--State Department, Defense, CIA, the Marine commander of Guantanamo, Cuban intelligence directorate, or his lover. The reader never knows which side is the ascendant. It has a sophisticated and original plot that is still easy to understand and doesn't grate for pretentious complexity. I thought the allusion to certain recent historical figures was brilliantly done and the build-up towards them is exquisite. It's got nice human touches with details of personal relationship's Falk has developed. The ambiguities in these relationships add to the realism, the suspense and to the quality of the book. "Prisoner..." has great twists-turns-and-turn-around-against to leave you dizzy yet enthralled. It is very rare in a thriller that I read thru to the very last page and still really care what's going on - in this case I absolutely did.

• Back in Form!

  Fesperman does not disappoint with this one! It is timely, fast moving and exciting. Weaving some current events into a slightly different setting, he has writtern a real thriller! I recommend it highly!

• A good read - glad I did it.

  I can't remember how I hit on this book exactly. I've been trying to broaden my reading base and this book somehow landed on the list. I'm glad it did. It is well outside my comfort zone and normally I would never look at it. That said, I stayed up late reading it. The character development was excellent. The plot unfolded logically but in a very unpredictable way. It ended well - but not at all happily ever after. If you're looking for something new or different, this is a superb choice. I glanced at a few negative reviews before writing this. I don't agree that this was "liberal media", anti-military, or overtly/covertly political comments. This was a story about a typical American guy getting through life, getting chewed on by the powers that be, and still making out reasonably well. Everything in the book was plausible. The backdrop setting is "real life" events that actually occurred. It made for a very believable and, by extension, suspenseful fictional story.

• A reasonable story but...

  ...characters were all over the map. Throughout, there is a nagging undercurrent of cynicism, author dislike of the military, and a barely disguised but typical liberal journalist contempt for conservatives. I stuck it out as it was an imaginative (if implausible) storyline, but my eyes were rolling at the subtle editorial commentary. It just got annoying.

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