Review by Booklist Review
In the wake of a devastating Los Angeles mall bombing, FBI Special Agent Shreya Mistry battles Bureau politics to prevent another bombing after she discovers that the young bomber, Yasmin Malik, entered the country with another teen, Aliyah Khan. In London, Carrie Flynn persuades Aliyah's father, Sajid Khan, to join her mission to save her son, Greg, who has been radicalized by the same group that lured in Yasmin and Aliyah. Following clues from Greg's letters, Sajid and Carrie track their kids. At the same time, Greg realizes that his cell's leaders deliberately detonated the bomb before Yasmin could escape. In an attempt to save Aliyah from the same fate, Greg takes her on the run with Shreya, Claire, and Sajid as the cell's operatives close in on them. Their volatile caravan converges on the preparations for simultaneous presidential rallies in north Florida, and Shreya must identify the cell's target. Mukherjee, author of the acclaimed Wyndham & Banerjee Raj--era thrillers, wields streamlined, powerful writing here, cleverly concealing the terrorists' ideology to spotlight the growing threat of polarization.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Mukherjee strays from his Wyndham & Banerjee historical series to deliver a cunning standalone rooted in contemporary America's fractured political landscape. After a bloody bombing in a Los Angeles mall, FBI agent Shreya Mistry identifies a young Muslim woman as the culprit. A group calling themselves the Sons of the Caliphate claim responsibility, threatening future attacks. With mere days left in a neck-and-neck presidential race between a right-wing ideologue and the country's Democratic vice president, a resurgence of Islamist terrorism could tip the balance. After Shreya uncovers the L.A. bomber's connection to a small town outside of Portland, Ore., she teams up with fellow FBI agent Susan Kramer, and the pair discover another potential bomber on the loose: Aliyah Khan, a young British woman radicalized by her sister's death during a political protest. Meanwhile, Aliyah's father, Sajid, heads to Oregon from London to stop her from carrying out the will of Miriam, a charismatic "soldier masquerading as messiah," whose deadly--though opaque--mission seems poised to topple the upper echelons of U.S. government and law enforcement. The diverse, well-drawn cast, clever investigative work, and breakneck pacing easily carry readers through the novel's many-tentacled plot. With this pulse-pounding thriller, Mukherjee proves he's just as good at mining the present for suspense as the past. Agent: Sam Copeland, RCW Literary. (May)
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Review by Library Journal Review
"Wyndham & Banerjee Mysteries" series author Mukherjee's stand-alone is a winning narrative that explores not only the danger of terrorist actions but also the complex motives behind such drastic acts. The novel begins with a bang and continues in a similar dramatic fashion. Yasmin trusted Jack when he told her that the bomb he was planting in a shopping mall wouldn't hurt innocent people, but the resulting carnage is horrendous and leaves even FBI agent Shreya Mistry aghast. Shreya ventures into the unstable mall and uncovers clues to the possible identities of bombers. While she pursues leads and irritates her supervisors, Sajid Khan, the father of a suspected terrorist, is abducted and brutally interrogated in London; his captors demand to know where his daughter is. Meanwhile, Greg, a wounded veteran and ex-convict, has gotten involved with a group of people plotting actions that will have grave implications for the country and the entire world. The story unfolds through the perspectives of law enforcement, the burgeoning terrorists, and the family members caught up in a domestic manhunt. VERDICT Mukherjee approaches terrorism and terrorist actors with a view that is more nuanced than cut-and-dried.--Philip Zozzaro
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Terrorism in America as imagined by a British Indian crime writer. Eight days before the end of a toxic presidential campaign that's "resting on a knife edge," terrorists blow up a mall in Burbank, California. Sixty-five people die in the carnage, including a woman seen running away from the rucksack holding the bomb. FBI Special Agent Shreya Mistry wonders who the culprit is. Several candidates come to mind, like the "American Redemption fanatics, looking to bomb America back to greatness." Then fingerprints identify the dead woman as Yasmin Malik, a British Muslim. "Why was she running?" Mistry wonders. "The question surfaced unbidden...a cork bobbing in the maelstrom of her mind." The hunt is on for the perpetrators, and eyes are on innocent men like Sajid Khan. Was he "just another treacherous Muslim? Guilty until proven innocent"? But it's more complicated. The bad guys follow the much-feared leader Miriam, a "soldier masquerading as messiah….Amish with a hint of assault rifle." Some of them are former U.S. military like Greg, who nurses a lingering leg wound from combat and whose neck is tattooed with barbed wire and a swastika. Meanwhile, Mistry has personal baggage and professional problems. The agent hasn't seen her daughter in months, and her FBI bosses don't like how she operates--she isn't called "Shreya Misfit" for nothing. And as befits a feisty hero, her suspension by the FBI doesn't stop her as she tries to avert another horrific attack. As the constant action unfolds, the terrorists always seem to stay a step ahead of the FBI--it's almost as if the bad guys have a mole inside the agency. Of the many good lines in the story, "hatred didn't do nuance" may be the most apt. This novel will make you shudder. It's taut, credible, and scary. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
