Fullerton’s style is reminiscent of Hammond Innes as the
first person narrative suggests he’s been there and even done much that the
hero Thomas Morgan relates. And Morgan is tough, a mercenary with links to MI6
and the tense fast-paced denouement has echoes of the sadly missed Adam Hall’s
super-spy Quiller. On this outing alone, Fullerton could easily take on the
Quiller mantle.
With a broken marriage, two children and an overdraft,
Morgan, the former SAS soldier, sometime spy and occasional thief has to
bargain for his freedom with the cold fish government man Quilty. One last job,
to ambush the escaping Osama bin Laden and assassinate him in Afghanistan – and
share the 25-million dollar reward.
Betrayed by his one-time associate Abdur Rahman, Morgan now
finds he has to work with him as he’s the only one who seems to know the
whereabouts of bin Laden. Morgan’s also helped by his case officer, Mathilde,
his former lover.
Steeped in gun lore, trade-craft and an intimate knowledge
of the land and its people, this is a riveting above-average thriller. Throughout,
the story is peppered with little insider snippets to lend authenticity. ‘She
pointed at me, using her thumb, because to point a finger directly at someone
is considered downright rude, as it is in the Arab world.’ Reminds you of those
HSBC adverts...
Afghanistan has always been a dangerous place, even when
flower-power travellers went on the hippy trail to find enlightenment and
drugs. It’s just moreso now. ‘This foreigner did not know her people. Did not
know their cruelty, how easily and thoughtlessly, after twenty-four years of
war, they could snuff out a life.’ Life is cheap here, but here too Morgan
undergoes an epiphany when meeting the mysterious woman Amarayn.
It’s very satisfying to find a thriller writer who’s new to
you, someone who engages you with the characters and the storyline, someone you
can trust to get things right. Fullerton has published three other fiction
books, The Monkey House (1996) and This
Green Land (previously titled Give Me Death, 2004) and White Boys Don’t
Cry (2007).
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