Book Review: Dark Waters by Chris Goff @crookedlanebks

Dark Waters
Author: Chris Goff
Series: A Raisa Jordan Thriller (Book 1)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (September 15, 2015)

Description: Raisa “Rae” Jordan, an agent for the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service, isn't in Israel for more than a day before her predecessor is gunned down in a Tel Aviv square by a sniper. Assigned to investigate the assassination of one of her own, she must also protect Judge Ben Taylor and his teenage daughter. They may be the sniper's next target and are most certainly being threatened by a desperate cadre of terrorists with their sights set on the Secretary of State's upcoming visit. But is an attack on the Secretary of State all that they have planned or is that just the beginning?

There are no protocols for this kind of a situation, and following the rules is exactly the kind of thing that could get the Taylors killed. To subvert an attack that could crush the fledgling peace in the Middle East, Jordan must trust her instincts and bring together a contentious team of agents from Israel, the U.S., and the Palestinian territories to uncover a conspiracy years in the making.

With millions of lives hanging in the balance, Dark Waters, Chris Goff's explosive thriller, is a series debut that mirrors global headlines and will have you frantically turning pages.

My Thoughts: Raisa Jordan in newly assigned to Israel just in time to find herself in the middle of a massive terrorist threat. Things start slow. She finds herself assigned to protect US Federal Court Judge Ben Taylor who is in Israel getting a non-traditional medical treatment for his seriously ill eleven-year-old daughter. Despite being the targets of Palestinians who want something he or his daughter has, he refuses to leave until the medical treatments are over.

Taylor and his daughter can't be sheltered in the embassy either because the embassy is gearing up for a visit by the Secretary of State. That leaves Raisa and a small group of Marines to protect Taylor and his daughter Lucy.

This is formatted like the usual thriller. At the beginning, each chapter is told from the viewpoint of a different character. The main characters here are Raisa, Ben Taylor, Ganani who works for the Israeli Secret Service under the command of the mysterious Colonel Brodsky, and a Palestinian reluctantly drafted into the PLC named Haddid. Their stories are woven together into a fast-paced thriller made more complex by the twisted politics of the Middle East.

Raisa is hampered by bosses who seem to be more concerned with covering their own butts than preventing terrorist attacks which has her teaming up with Ganani who has come to distrust her boss, Taylor who will do anything to protect his daughter, and a Marine who is a former computer hacker if the terrorist plot against both Israel and Palestine is to be thwarted.

We learn something of Raisa's background - both her immediate background and when she was a child - but there are still mysteries to be solved. She is a great character - smart, fluent in a number of languages, trained in martial arts, and with the resolution to kill if it is necessary. I look forward to reading more of her adventures.

Favorite Quote:

Jordan pondered that as she poured herself water. Turning, she leaned against the counter. "You know what I don't understand?"

"What?"

"How can a group of people who have been persecuted be so intolerant of each other's differences?"

"It happens everywhere."

I got this eARC from Netgalley. You can buy your copy here.