The Amateur Spy [Hardcover]

Dan Fesperman's highly accomplished The Amateur Spy is a salutary reminder that writing as ambitious as this does not always parley into massive sales; while Fesperman’s series of novels have always enjoyed healthy attention from readers (and won unanimously high praise from critics), he is not yet in the category, saleswise, of many a far less gifted writer. But perhaps it’s inevitable: when a writer raises the standards of the thriller novel to something approaching literature (as Fesperman has incontrovertibly done), he will leave behind those seeking more straightforward fare. That’s not to say that the author ever disregards the central tenets of storytelling: the level of excitement engendered by such books as his striking debut Lie in the Dark, The Small Boat of Great Sorrows and his last book, the much-acclaimed The Prisoner of Guantanamo ensured that readers were comprehensively gripped, but Fesperman was simultaneously able to freight in notions of betrayal, loyalty and the dark agencies that shape the fate of nations. That’s very much the case here.

One of Fesperman's protagonists, Freeman Lockhart, is working with an old friend, Omar, in Jordan, but he is also in the awkward position of spying on him, reporting back on his friend to an agency investigating Omar's financial situation. At the same time, another act of spying is taking place in Washington, where Aliyah Rahim is watching the behaviour of her husband, a doctor traumatised by the death of their daughter. She is convinced that the distrust of Arab Americans that came into being after 9/11 is responsible. She begins to feel that her husband is in the process of putting together an act of violent retribution -- and the stakes are no less high for Freeman, bought (like her) into an impossible situation in which doing the right thing is by no means straightforward.

Fesperman’s experience as a war correspondent – along with his acute political radar -- informs all his books with an intelligence and tension that is rarely found in thriller writers on either side of the Atlantic. Each new book by him seems to match the achievement of the one before, and The Amateur Spy raises the bar even higher for Fesperman. --Barry Forshaw

'Dan Fesperman's novels always offer interesting and thought-provoking commentary on contemporary world events and in The Amateur Spy he tackles Middle East terrorism with a story that contains a disquietingly topical element...A fine thriller to add to his impressive body of work'

(Susanna Yager, Sunday Telegraph 20060712)

'A gritty verisimilitude against a subtle political backdrop. The scene-setting is vivid and dramatic. Mr Fesperman is especially good on the murky frontier where journalists, aid-workers and spies trade information...He is honing the genre of intelligent political thrillers. Foreign correspondents should note: they now have some new standards to match.' (Economist 20060716)

'It goes without saying that Fesperman is a master of orchestrating tension - but he is equally good at characterising his vulnerable, conflicted protagonists'

(Daily Express 20060716)

'Fesperman taps another timely issue in his fourth topical thriller...a superb job' (Publishers Weekly 20060716)

'Fascinating ... a thought-provoking and exciting read' (Observer on THE PRISONER OF GUANTANAMO 20060716)

'An absorbing novel with some provocative commentary on America's war on terror' (Susannah Yager, Sunday Telegraph on THE PRISONER OF GUANTANAMO 20060716)

'A neat sense of conspiratorial tension...Fesperman's use of spy tradecraft is good - even creative - and never more elaborate than the situation calls for' (Washington Post on THE PRISONER OF GUANTANAMO 20060716)

'A superb spy thriller worthy of sharing shelf space with the novels of John le Carré and Ken Follett...darkly imaginative...draws a dramatic portrait' (USA Today on THE PRISONER OF GUANTANAMO )

'A terrific novel of intrigue, duplicity and death in the shadow of the Khyber Pass...Fesperman is that rare journalist who is also a gifted novelist...first-rate' (Washington Post on THE WARLORD'S SON )

'One of the best writers of intelligent thrillers based on contemporary events working today...observant, thoughtful, witty' (Baltimore Sun on THE PRISONER OF GUANTANAMO )

'A new book by Dan Fesperman is becoming a major literary event . . . an utterly compelling thriller and quite simply the best I’ve read all year.' (Sunday Telegraph on THE WARLORD'S SON )

'Fesperman offers a level of cultural and political nuance not always found in adventure thrillers.' (Booklist on THE WARLORD'S SON )

'A first-rate geopolitical yarn . . . Fesperman combines his strong eye for detail with bleak film-noir cynicism, managing to make plot twists that could have felt contrived seem depressingly believable.' (Entertainment Weekly on THE WARLORD'S SON )

'Dan Fesperman has written that rare thing: a fine and intelligent novel that makes you think, and keeps you turning the pages.' (Val McDermid on THE SMALL BOAT OF GREAT SORROWS )

'In THE WARLORD'S SON, Dan Fesperman, an American foreign correspondent who covered the war in Afghanistan, succeeds in writing a convincing, accurate thriller . . . This book is worth reading if only for the passage where the hero, Skelly, glimpses Osama bin Laden at a public hanging; the scene both convinces and frightens.' (The Economist on THE WARLORD'S SON )

'Dan Fesperman's novels always offer interesting and thought-provoking commentary on contemporary world events and in The Amateur Spy he tackles Middle East terrorism with a story that contains a disquietingly topical element...A fine thriller to add to his impressive body of work' -- Susanna Yager, Sunday Telegraph 20070729 'A gritty verisimilitude against a subtle political backdrop. The scene-setting is vivid and dramatic. Mr Fesperman is especially good on the murky frontier where journalists, aid-workers and spies trade information...He is honing the genre of intelligent political thrillers. Foreign correspondents should note: they now have some new standards to match.' -- Economist 20070830 'It goes without saying that Fesperman is a master of orchestrating tension - but he is equally good at characterising his vulnerable, conflicted protagonists' -- Daily Express 20070730 'Fesperman taps another timely issue in his fourth topical thriller...a superb job' -- Publishers Weekly 20060501 'Fascinating ... a thought-provoking and exciting read' -- Observer on THE PRISONER OF GUANTANAMO 20060716 'An absorbing novel with some provocative commentary on America's war on terror' -- Susannah Yager, Sunday Telegraph on THE PRISONER OF GUANTANAMO 20060723 'A neat sense of conspiratorial tension...Fesperman's use of spy tradecraft is good - even creative - and never more elaborate than the situation calls for' -- Washington Post on THE PRISONER OF GUANTANAMO 20060716 'A superb spy thriller worthy of sharing shelf space with the novels of John le Carre and Ken Follett...darkly imaginative...draws a dramatic portrait' -- USA Today on THE PRISONER OF GUANTANAMO 20060712 'A terrific novel of intrigue, duplicity and death in the shadow of the Khyber Pass...Fesperman is that rare journalist who is also a gifted novelist...first-rate' -- Washington Post on THE WARLORD'S SON 20060712 'One of the best writers of intelligent thrillers based on contemporary events working today...observant, thoughtful, witty' -- Baltimore Sun on THE PRISONER OF GUANTANAMO 20060716 'A new book by Dan Fesperman is becoming a major literary event ... an utterly compelling thriller and quite simply the best I've read all year.' -- Sunday Telegraph on THE WARLORD'S SON 20060716 'Fesperman offers a level of cultural and political nuance not always found in adventure thrillers.' -- Booklist on THE WARLORD'S SON 20060716 'A first-rate geopolitical yarn ... Fesperman combines his strong eye for detail with bleak film-noir cynicism, managing to make plot twists that could have felt contrived seem depressingly believable.' -- Entertainment Weekly on THE WARLORD'S SON 20060716 'Dan Fesperman has written that rare thing: a fine and intelligent novel that makes you think, and keeps you turning the pages.' -- Val McDermid on THE SMALL BOAT OF GREAT SORROWS 20060716 'In THE WARLORD'S SON, Dan Fesperman, an American foreign correspondent who covered the war in Afghanistan, succeeds in writing a convincing, accurate thriller ... This book is worth reading if only for the passage where the hero, Skelly, glimpses Osama bin Laden at a public hanging; the scene both convinces and frightens.' -- The Economist on THE WARLORD'S SON 20060716

Freeman Lockhart is working for his old friend Omar in Amman, Jordan. And spying on him too.

Hoping to prevent his own secrets from ever coming to light, Freeman has agreed to report back on his friend to a clandestine agency interested in Omar’s finances.

In Washington DC, meanwhile, Aliyah Rahim is spying on her husband Abbas. A brilliant doctor, Abbas is crushed by the death of their daughter, which he blames on the post-9/11 mood of hostility towards Arab-Americans, and Aliyah fears he may be planning a terrifying act of revenge.

Freeman and Aliyah are pitched into the same deadly game, in which the only rules are violence and deceit.

Dan Fesperman is the author of four novels and the winner of two CWA awards, for best first novel and best thriller. (20070730)

Dan Fesperman, a war correspondent for the Baltimore Sun Times, has written four highly acclaimed previous novels of international suspense. He lives in Baltimore with his family. (20060501)