Behind the Green Water

Rating:
Summary: A Timely Thriller
Review: I have never thought of myself as a thriller fan, but the timely Middle East setting of Behind the Green Water and its fast pace captured my interest from the beginning. The protagonist Nash Devon, an American military officer, is complex, believable, and unlike many inflexible and unfeeling male characters, has heart. The back story comes forth gradually, supplying his motivation and creating his sympathetic personality. The novel satisfies our curiosity in particular about Iraq and reveals why this nation is potentially so dangerous. Yet we also meet some admirable Iraqi people and kind, if often discouraged, United Nations refugee workers. The author clearly has experience with the culture, towns, and countryside of Iraq, as well as Syria and Saudi Arabia, and convincingly describes the military environment and hardware. The intrique Devon confronts rings true, as well. Surprisingly, the novel develops an undercurrent of spirituality that relates to the title. Devon is on a cruelly difficult mission. Few will be able to set the book aside without knowing if he is successful, and few will be able to stop reading until they know whether Devon and the woman and boy he befriends can all escape their enemies.