From an advance review copy for which I thank the publisher.
I made it only a quarter of the way through this because it felt weak on dialog and plot. It began with British MI6 (the Brit equivalent of the CIA) agent Nikki Sinclair traveling to South Africa to secure some microfilm regarding South Africa's supplying of yellowcake, which is uranium concentrate powder, to Israel to facilitate Israel's construction of nuclear weapons.
For reasons I could not fathom, instead of handing those over to the British emabssy in South Africa (from whence they could have been sent to Britain in a diplomatic bag), Nikki then takes an indirect flight out which ends up landing in Zaire! The plane is held for several days for some sort of inspection or repair, and Nikki is trapped there.
This seemed highly improbable to me. At best it was lousy planning on the part of MI6 and at worst serious incompetence! The thing is though that an old flame of Nikki's named Dvora, who works for Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, is also on the flight, and she shows up in Nikki's room, univited, waiting for her to get out of the shower, which she does, and walks into her bedroom to find Dvora sitting on her bed. Nikki is of course wearing only a towel around her head and one around her waist.
Again this seemed so artifical that it made no sense, and it threw me out of suspension of disbelief. I can see a towel around the hair, but why around the waist? Why not around the chest? Why a towel at all since she believes she's alone in the room? It felt like the only reason she did this was to perk up the story, not because it's what real people do.
For me, this lack of realism was a problem that seemed to repeat itself, constantly reminding me this was just a story. Every other thing I read seemed like it was there because this was a fiction, not because we were supposed to immersed in real events. Suspension of disbelief wasn't an option after a while, because I could not lose myself in the story, for no other reason than how artifical it seemed.
On top of that the story itself wasn't really engaging. I couldn't bring myself to care about Nikki or Dvora, or their mission. I couldn't develop any interest in the time period the story was supposedly set, because there really was nothing to establish it in the early eighties. There was no mention of music or fashion, of vehicles, or news items. All we had was this yellowcake israel was buying.
I didn't feel any sort of tension or thrill from reading this and the premise felt weak. Why would the Israelis care about the safety of a British agent who they believed was about to expose some of their nuclear subterfuge? Why didn't Nikki (or someone) even once check the microfilm to make sure that what was on it was actually what the Brits had bargained for? Why wasn't the film handed-off once or twice to disguise who had it? The story felt so haphazard and at the same time too simplistic.
That said it wasn't until I read (as part of that bedroom scene):
Dvora shook her head. "Please, don't reject me." Her gaze pleaded. "I don't know if I could bear it."that I gave up on this. It struck me as the last thing a Mossad agent would say to anyone, not even an old flame. It just felt too fake. Nikki is apparently still obsessed over a previous boss, and Dvora is still obsessed with Nikki. It felt too much like a soap opera and nowhere near enough like a spy thriller, and to me this wasn't the story I signed up for.
I think this author has a good story or two in her, but it wasn't this one. I like strong, motivated women who know their own mind, make things happen, and get things done, which it seemed to me is what trained agents should do; especially a Mossad agent. This felt too wishy-washy for my taste. I can't commend it based on the portion I read.
