Post by Junkyarddog on Nov 11, 2016 9:40:31 GMT
(Third book in the Yael Azoulay series of political thrillers).
Yael Azoulay works for the United Nations as a senior covert negotiator for Secretary General, Fareed Hussein. Azoulay is tasked with brokering a secret meeting between American President Freshwater and her Iranian counterpart at the upcoming Reykjavik Summit. However, there are several vested interests who want to see those private talks fail and will go to any length to achieve that. Azoulay's life, those of the participants in the summit and possibly even the future peace of the Middle East and the wider world are threatened. Yet this is only one aspect of a much more complex conspiracy tale.
There are some books that just grab you from the first few pages and 'The Reykjavik Assignment' hooked me from the prologue. The book opens with a couple of set pieces that establish the pacey tone for the novel and I was ready for an exciting thriller but I soon realised that this would be a more complex and involved read. The early chapters offer a wealth of information that sets up the story and many key characters come into play. It all comes thick and fast and I worried about keeping up, it certainly would have been easier to read this novel with a knowledge of the previous two and the story so far. Still I persevered, it all made sense and as the narrative settled I found myself totally engrossed. It was a nice surprise to find that this novel is not a straightforward thriller but a hard edged intelligent story, with a fictional set of characters in an almost allegorical tale of the modern world- all chillingly prescient.
The novel has a number of interesting angles, and although not unique it is rare to have such a strong female protagonist/hero. Yael Azoulay is a smart, resourceful agent, very human but tough as nails when pushed - a compelling character. It is equally unusual for the United Nations to be at the heart of the story rather than multinational corporations and state governments - although both feature heavily here. This allows Lebor to give us a fresh take on the machinations behind world events.
Lebor is a political journalist and this novel is blessed with a wealth of knowledge gained over many years reporting the themes that underlie this novel. 'The Reykjavik Assignment' is an insight into geo-politics, the zeitgeist of world affairs and an understanding of how the past impacts upon the present. This is a complex conspiracy theory novel smartly plotted, grounded firmly in the real world of international affairs and consummately told by a master of the art. I found myself engaging with the authors contentions and in that aspect 'The Reykjavik Assignment' reminded me of the Edward Wilson novels of British intelligence after WWII. Lebor tackles the contemporary issues of terrorism, information technology, global conflict, corporate power, crime and corruption with a suitably murky field of players and blurred lines. Should anyone doubt it there is a healthy dose of explosive action too.
Lebor has written a number of factual books and three other novels; 'The Budapest Protocol' in 2011 followed by the first two in the Yael Azoulay series; 'The Geneva Option (2013) and 'The Washington Strategem' (2015), I've already got my order in for both of those books and will be looking forward to reading them soon.
Might appeal to readers of Charles Cumming, Joakim Zander and Olen Steinhauer.