Exciting Spy Thriller 

My rating:  4 out of 5

An exciting and action packed spy thriller, set in Damascus, Syria. 

Ari finds himself being given desk jobs; his best days of spying for Mossad are behind him, following a few misjudged decisions.  He is bored so jumps at the opportunity to  extricate some children from Damascus.  What appears to be a straightforward and simple mission turns out to be full of problems and treachery .

After a very slow build up, the story turns into an edge of your seat, dramatic  thriller.  There are plenty of moments of high tension as Ari tries to complete his assignment and avoid those tailing him and the local secret police.  Who can Ari trust and will his undercover story be blown?   His personal life is also tricky, which gives an added dimension to this great story.  As the book nears its end all becomes clear – a great plot!

 There is plenty of modern history about Syria, as well as detail about the city of Damascus (which I was not so interested in).  Although originally written in 1977 the story feels up to date; the absence of modern technology not being noticeable in the plot.    There are a few very unpleasant (but in keeping with the story) scenes. 

4*s for me, as I found the beginning of the book dragged, but when it got going – wow it was exciting.  The film of this book is available on Netflix and Hulu.

Trailer for the film:

https://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/damascus-cover/

Availa