Well! *wipes sweat from brow!* This is an uber-tense thriller from the author of the Indian-set Wyndham & Bannerjee series of historical police procedurals. Proving he has a lot more to offer than one string to his bow, Mukherjee takes us into the tense world of American politics, terrorism, desperate parents, an unlikely love story, and an FBI agent who goes rogue in a desperate attempt to stop more people getting hurt. And wow! It’s absolutely great: exciting, fast-moving, with a great ending – ticking every box in my “great thriller” template!
It’s told from three points of view – Shreya Mistry, our FBI agent; Sajid, the father of one of those believed to be part of a future terrorist attack (he’s teamed up with Carrie, the mother of another); and her son Greg, who, with Sajid’s daughter Aliyah are fleeing the cult who call themselves Sons of the Caliphate and have already claimed responsibility for one attack and are assumed to be planning more.
The huge explosion in a shopping mall in Burbank, California is the start of their terror spree, and as one Muslim girl, Yasmin, is found dead and CCTV shows her – inexplicably – attempting to leave the mall with the explosive device just as it explodes, killing many and injuring a great deal more, the FBI make the assumption it’s an Islamic terrorist group, and the group’s name seems to bear that theory out. With a presidential election that’s too close to call just over a week away, the Feds pull out all the stops to track down the cell and prevent further attacks.
But desperate parents, and something of an odd combination, Carrie and Sajid are also on their tail, and they might just have the edge when it comes to information about where the group are holed up. Their problems start when Sajid is assumed to be a terrorist too, in the States to help, not stop his daughter, and soon finds himself plastered over 24-hour news channels. As he and Carrie get closer to the terrorists’ base, it seems that Shreya, something of the traditional “maverick agent”, may just have beaten them to it.
Meanwhile, two of the terrorists are crossing the country, but is it to set off another attack, or is it to escape the cell, who seem to have tentacles everywhere? Multiple games of cat-and-mouse ensue, keeping the tension rammed up to the max as well as ensuring a varied and intriguing group of characters. It’s a real tour-de-force, and although I do miss Wyndham and Bannerjee, this is an amazing yarn – well-placed, thrilling, and one to keep you guessing until the inevitable tense – and unexpected denouement! Perfect summer reading if you enjoy thrillers with a touch of politics, a chewy complex plot (but not overly so), and a great cast of characters, all of whom, it seems, have a surprise or two up their sleeve.
The whole book is an utter triumph, and I’ll be really surprised if it isn’t one of the books of the summer – it certainly deserves to be! What will Mukherjee write next? On the evidence of this, he can turn his hand to anything!
crimeworm verdict: A thrilling ride that doesn’t slow down – bravo!
With huge thanks to Harvill Secker and Vintage, plus Netgalley, for an early read of this – this has in no way affected my opinion and this is an honest review.
BLURB: It’s a week before the presidential elections when a bomb goes off in an LA shopping mall.
In London, armed police storm Heathrow Airport and arrest Sajid Khan. His daughter Aliyah entered the USA with the suicide bomber, and now she’s missing, potentially plotting another attack.
But then a woman called Carrie turns up at Sajid’s door after travelling halfway across the world. She claims Aliyah is with her son Greg, and she knows where they could be.
Back in the US, Agent Shreya Mistry is closing in on the two fugitives. But the more she investigates, the more she realises there is more to this case than meets the eye and suspects a wider conspiracy.
Hunted by the authorities, the two parents are thrown together in a race against time to find their kids before the FBI does, and stop a catastrophe that will bring the country to its knees.