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Rating: 
Summary: Incredible, more so, because it is real!
Review: I defer to the other reviewers, who gave 5 stars.
To their reviews I add that this book was so good, I wanted more! To me, that's a sign of an excellent story.
The liner notes on the Hardcover quotes Mario Puzo as saying that Ed Murray is a "born novelist" and Puzo is not exaggerating!
Hopefully, Mr. Murray will give us more of the same in the future!
Thanks for an incredible read; and incredible ride!
Rating:
Summary: Gripping and timely reading
Review: Murray's scary and informative thriller casts a searing light on the fuming Islamic world of the Middle East. The book is about a potentially explosive situation stoked by a horribly misguided US administration that is often fed distorted and conflicting information by an intelligence community blind to truth, ignorant of history and more concerned with infighting than creating a secure world. Is this book about 1978-79, or today? The large cast is finely drawn, with each character given telling particulars that are often humorous, sometimes biting, but always essential to revealing the inner person and their contorted motives in a fevered, unsettled time. "Atmospherics" (in CIA parlance) flowing from Murray's pen put the reader right in the gut of Tehran, abundant with a swirl of sounds, smells and flavors that intoxicate the mind trying to figure out who is to be trusted. Send a copy to your Congressional representative today!
Rating:
Summary: More than a good spy novel
Review: This is a spy novel so good that it transcends the genre, the way Scott Turow transcends the legal thriller genre. The writing is superb, the observations and ironies are sublime, and the characters - American, Iranian, and Russian - spring to life with very realistic dialog and subtle depth. The setting is Iran during the transition from the Shah to the Ayatollah, which is very timely considering the transition occurring in Iraq right now. This is not a comic-book, James Bond style spy story, but a very realistic portrayal of how "spies" and intelligence gathering really work. It's especially revealing if you want to understand how the U.S. intelligence community can get it so wrong, even when their agents get it right.
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