Interesting plot and quite a suspense thriller, the plot could be tighter. There were a lot of side stories, some of which were not clearly explained. For example, how did Farideh get to know Kourash and the soldier who was killed in Afghanistan? It was also quite irritating that new segments usually start without the author clearly indicating which characters he is talking about. ( )

A small British team is sent into Iran to evacuate the wife of the General's driver, who has been caught and captured by the British. Her husband would normally not be a target, however, being the General's driver, he regularly overhears top secret conversations including the location of secret nuclear launch sites etc etc. He will only speak if they rescue and evacuate his wife, Farideh, from Iran. The British team sent into Iran is a small, consisting of 3 ex-soldiers and one high-school dropout who speaks the local language.

I found the book a little confusing to keep track of all that was going on. There were too many side stories and back stories that I found a little unnecessary, and kind of detracted from the main story. I found I was loosing attention and found it difficult to get back on track. Overall, the main story was interesting, with the Generals driver being captured, and refusing to talk unless the British evacuated his wife, Farideh from Iran, and the subsequent trials that the evacuation team faced in hostile territory. The main narrative was a solid effort and a good read.
I found the ending was a little flat. I felt like the narrative should have been a bit different with a slightly more positive outcome in the end. ( )

MI6 ensnares an Iranian general’s trusted driver in a honey-trap operation in Dubai. The reluctant defector is whisked to Austria for debriefing. He provides tantalizing information before deciding he wants his alluring but headstrong wife brought out. A competent but shopworn and suspect group of ex-army men – now private contractors – is sent into Iran with a laborer and former star university student serving as translator. Finding the wife is simple compared with getting her out.

Gerald Seymour is a master at plotting. Along with characters that truly come to life and a wealth of pertinent detail, it makes his books spellbinding. Seymour deals with motives and emotions like few suspense authors. Even minor characters are formed enough that their actions and emotions are logical. Suspense builds and the stakes are high for the entire cast of characters that Seymour has created and ushered through the story. And he makes us care about each and every one of them. ( )