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INTELLIGENCE
by Susan Hasler
Thomas Dunn Books, June 2010
308 pages
$24.99
ISBN: 031257603X


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the American intelligence community has been increasingly vigilant about reviewing information in order to thwart any further attacks before they occur. The amount of data that is scrutinized is mind boggling. The agents working on this detail review thousands of communications looking for the elusive clue that indicates trouble ahead. It's really an impossible task.

Maddie James is a terrorism expert and sees strong evidence that another attack is coming. Every attempt that she makes to alert those higher up is either ignored or brushed aside. It seems that it is more important to the administration that the public only hear about the so-called victories in the 'War on Terror"; no one wants to disturb the president with news that all is not going well. Instead of taking strong evidence of an imminent terrorist threat seriously, the politicos are more concerned with justifying going to war with Iran. Eventually, Maddie's boss allows her to assemble a small team to investigate her findings, more to get her out of his hair than to support her theories.

The book focuses on the work that is done by the team and the dynamics of the relationships between its members. They are quite an interesting crew, with many quirks, but each brilliant in their own way. Truly, it's an exercise in frustration, as no one outside of the team wants to be the bearer of bad news. As a result, there IS a terrorist incident; and all the fingers point back at Maddie and her team.

INTELLIGENCE is a superb debut effort. Hasler has created a great group of characters, each of whom is fully developed. Maddie is a brilliant counterterrorism analyst but flawed by her own perfectionist tendencies and dysfunctional home life. As I read the book, I experienced the same sense of frustration that the team members did as they faced the denial of reality and the ridiculous political game playing. As Maddie says, "If there is one hard lesson I've learned in this town, it's that ass-covering trumps national security every time." The author balances the frustration with wit and dark humor.

Hasler was with the CIA for 21 years, and her experience has made this book an outstanding tale of life within US intelligence agencies after 9/11. Everything about INTELLIGENCE feels real; the fast-paced plot, superb characterization and assured writing style made this a big winner for me.

§ Formerly a training development manager for a large company, Maddy is now retired and continues to enable the addiction of crime fiction fans as owner of the online discussion group, 4 Mystery Addicts(4MA), while avidly reading in every possible free moment herself.

Reviewed by Maddy Van Hertbruggen, August 2010

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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