Like Spy Novels? A look at Scorpion Betrayal by Andrew Kaplan

[Ehsan Ehsani]

Andrew Kaplan is best known for his spy thriller novels featuring a former operative code-named Scorpion. He worked as a freelance journalist and war correspondent for the International Herald Tribune and has also served in the army. His new novel Scorpion Betrayalwill be released in Mass Market Paperback edition on March 27, 2012.

A Brief Summary:

The head of Egypt's State Internal Security is brutally murdered in a Cairo cafe by a faceless killer known only as "the Palestinian." The murder becomes an opening move in a chilling game of terror which catches the international intelligence community completely off-guard. They know this has been just a message and there is intelligence that something really big is coming. Therefore the CIA turns Scorpion to mitigate the damage and get rid of the Palestinian issue.

The breakneck hunt for a mastermind is leading Scorpion from the Middle East to the dangerous underworld of the capitals of Europe and then to the United States.

Our Take:

In a nutshell, the whole story is about the encounter between Scorpion and the Palestinian represents. After the story begins with the assassination of Egypt's State Internal Security, the subsequent chapters of the book are set in different cities from Beirut to Damascus to Utrecht (Netherlands) and Rome. Palestinian needs to go to different countries and set his plan in motion and Scorpion needs to stop him.

The chasing scenes such as the one in Rome when Scorpion is on a motor bike and the Palestinian in an automobile is gripping. There are also chilling chapters, like the one in Utrecht where the theme is less of the action and more spy-activity driven. The last chapter of the book ties up a lot of loose ends, and the story ends up in an exciting yet predictable way. 

The topic of almost all the plots are the same as the typical current political issues we read in the newspapers: The tension about Iran's nuclear program, Russia's role in global politics, secret operations in Pakistan and so on.

The author has also used the familiar spy techniques like disguise, secret notes, coded messages and blackmail in his story and the result is fast-paced and engaging read.

Overall, a nice read for the beach (or the train).

Our Rating: 3.0

Like Books By Andrew Kaplan?

If you like Spy novels by Kaplan you can check out the following titles. Click on the images to go to Amazon page for each book.

 

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