The Amateur Spy [Kindle Edition]

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 20090109)

'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 )

'Fesperman is the closest thing America has to John le Carré, a writer of great elegance and sophistication whose novels are as topical as they are compelling. In a market saturated by factory-made thrillers, Fesperman stands out as a spy novelist of the highest quality.' (Charles Cumming, The Week )