Beside the Syrian Sea: 100 Recipes Designed by Diabetes Specialist Dietitians

I really enjoyed this book. The author is a veteran of MI6 and knows the terrain well. But it’s more than a gripping spy thriller. It’s also a tale of love, redemption, betrayal, courage, and fear, as a young British analyst searches for his estranged father, a kidnap victim in Syria. The writing is crisp and taut, but what really grabbed me were the intricacies of the relationships and psychology of the different characters. One of the better spy thriller debuts that I have read in many years. Congratulations 🍾🎈🎉🎊 to James Wolff! 5 stars ⭐️

With the leaking of intelligence data continuing to be one of the hottest topics not only for the UK but for the western world, the premise here couldn’t be more topical.Jonas works as an intelligence analyst for the British secret service and, as such, is privy to information that could be hugely damaging to British interests should it fall into the wrong hands. Jonas is no traitor, so of course, he’d do no such thing. Problem is though, his father has been taken hostage by ISIS in Syria and they are demanding a multi million dollar ransom for his release. The UK government will not pay out and Jonas certainly does not have this kind of money lying about. What he does have is secrets, and they could be worth their weight in gold.I found this book to work on multiple levels. It isn’t sentimental in any way. Jonas wants his father back and is using the tools he has at his disposal to secure his release. The intelligence community is expertly painted and highlights not only the infighting but the collaboration between countries and the lengths that individuals will go to when they are faced with a threat. Damage caused may be felt at a national level, but the hurt is taken personally. And then there is ISIS itself. A well run organisation with the resources of a state and a tangible and proven threat to the West or a ragtag bunch of chancers with a muddied agenda and a lack of credibility? Most importantly though, this book really delivers as a thriller whilst showing not just how far one man will go for his own reasons but how far a country will go for theirs.Not too many thrillers use Lebanon or Syria as settings so this was a real plus. You could breathe in the dirty backstreets that Jonas was trying to navigate and the crumbling infrastructure of Syria was captured effortlessly in some beautifully taut paragraphs. The ending could have gone in so many different directions. Personally, I think it was spot on.

I mostly enjoyed this. MI5 desk jockey gets frustrated by the lack of government action in trying to free his father who had been captured by ISIS. He takes matters into his own hands. The book evokes Beirut and the internal workings of the security services very well. Some of the story line is more plausible than other bits. But it keeps you involved.

I see no other James Wolff books on offer, so I will assume this is an excellent first novel. Very accomplished writing, by a man who knows his spycraft. I don't like telling the story, which involves a fairly stock character from the genre: a man betrayed by the intelligence community who chooses to take matters into his own hands while pursued by those who know the ropes better than he does. The well-drawn characters, the seamless logic (not always present in the genre), the careful build of tension and suspense -- make "Beside the Syrian Sea" stand out from the crowd of similar efforts.IOW, I really enjoyed reading this book.

I didn’t think the main character was likable or interesting. Boring story at times. Three stars might be too generous.