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THE FAITHFUL SPY
by Alex Berenson
Hutchinson, July 2006
352 pages
10.99 GBP
ISBN: 0091796431


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

CIA operative John Wells has penetrated al Qaeda to an amazing extent. He has achieved reasonably high status within that body and is located in Afghanistan. Wells has not communicated with his American employers for some time, causing them to wonder if he has gone so deep into cover that he has been turned.

When he eventually contacts the American army, he is able to tell them useful information he has gleaned but at the expense of the lives of Islamic colleagues he has grown to like. Requesting that an American officer shoot him in the arm to lend support to his cover character, he returns to al Qaeda and is, once more, out of reach of the CIA who have come to doubt his loyalty since he did not warn them of the impending attacks of September 11 2001.

Wells is sent to New York on a mission which al Qaeda feel only he, because of his racial background, can accomplish. Before leaving, he is introduced to a man calling himself Omar Khadri, the man who will be Wells' immediate boss. Wells is, because of the same reason that makes him such an asset to the organisation, ultimately distrusted by them, much as he is distrusted by the CIA, so he is not given information about the task he is to undertake.

Wells had left his family years before when he undertook his undercover assignment. This saw him estranged from his wife and son. He tries to establish contact with his mother but is disappointed, then with his former wife, who first of all shows him the impracticality of establishing a relationship with his son then rings his CIA handler, Jennifer Exley, to warn her he is back in the US.

The author paints a grim picture of the fate in store for enemies of Islamic extremists, containing, as it does, the threat of bombs and bacteria. The hapless protagonist is, officially unknowingly but suspecting his fate, slated for martyrdom by his colleagues. He has to prove himself time and again to them, at times at the risk of endangering American officials and having to decide what would do the least damage.

THE FAITHFUL SPY is a debut novel for New York Times journalist and non-fiction author Alex Berenson, who has spent some time in Iraq for his employer. As a journalist, it is only natural that Berenson turns out lean but comprehensive prose.

While Wells himself is almost completely believable, as are, for someone unfamiliar with the culture but indoctrinated by the popular press, the Islamic fighters, I had great difficulty in swallowing the romantic theme. I can certainly see the necessity for the protagonist to have someone within the CIA believe and trust (in a manner of speaking) Wells but felt that the love tale was far from convincing.

To my mind, this was a weak link in an otherwise strong book. The rest, the alienation from family, the changes wrought in the agent's absence, were all persuasive. Should Berenson write a further novel, perhaps he should fall in love before introducing an amorous sub-plot or else, preferably, invent alternative motivations for his characters.

If readers have not had their fill of terrorism from popular media, or wish to explore the terrifying possibilities propounded by someone who has 'been there', they will find the novel to be a gripping, if frightening, read.

Reviewed by Denise Pickles, June 2006

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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