This novel is a superior political thriller. Agent John Kramer is a character torn apart personally by 9/11, and yet he maintains a moral code about what kind of line-in-the-sand to draw in regards to how he treats terrorist suspects and operatives. In a counter terrorism campaign he hooks up with Mossad agents who, on the other hand, seem like something out of the Transporter series of movies. Kill early, kill often.
There is an intense scene a little more than halfway through the book where Agent Kramer is with the Mossad agents and they have captured several operatives, including low-level support operatives . . . merciless. And Kramer moves a little further in a transformation of morals, ideals and codes.
This is one of the most realistic novels I've read on the internal struggles of being someone dealing with stopping terrorism, with lots of stuff at your disposal to stop it with, and just what that does to the mind, and the ambiguity of morals and values it causes.
In my usual evaluation of whether the Kindle version is worth more than a buck, asking the following questions 1) Did I struggle with language and syntax? 2) Were the characters someone I'd meet on the street or a cardboard stand I'd run into at the grocery store? 3) Did I feel I had a better grasp of the plot than the writer? 4) Would I have rather bought a candy-bar across the street at 7-11?
This one shines on 1-4, running on all cylinders. It's fully worth $6.99, and I'd pass up a bottle of Zachary Boone for it too.
LINK: Shades of Terror by Larry A. Levitan
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