Stephen Leather has one-upped himself (a tremendous feat) with one of the most ingeniously captivating and timely action thrillers pertaining to the most recent shift of geopolitical climate in the Middle East.
Dirty War stars Stephen Leather’s distinctive hero, Dan “Spider” Shepherd as he uncovers a major terrorist plot to assassinate the Prime Minister of United Kingdom. This time, the threat’s personal to Spider; he’s the one who got the terrorist into the country in the first place.
Stephen Leather’s economy with words is matched only by the elegance of the straight-forward prose with resonating situations and highly believable and distinctive characters. Dan “Spider” Shepherd is part detective, part gunfighter, and all awesome. With an eidetic memory, Shepherd packs a killer memory for everything he sees and hears, a weapon that comes very handy when he’s working undercover. His weapons prowess is no less, as his proficiency with firearms and combat is displayed vividly throughout the narrative. Perhaps the only one who might give Shepherd a run for his money would be Matt Standing, a hot-headed gunslinger SAS trooper and a fan-favorite character in Leather’s universe of badass characters. Good thing they’re both on the same side when they infiltrate Afghanistan to rescue an asset in the heart of the troop recall last year, running and gunning through insurgents and bad guys in style.
Another huge positive point I truly admire in Stephen Leather’s writings is the lack of any sort of propaganda. Characters are multi-layered and serve the purpose of driving the nuanced emotional stakes without falling into pits of cliches and stereotypes. The political grievances conveyed through characters mirror common-sense worldview of current situations, resonating with all readers. From the well-known Dan Shepherd to the newer characters that join him, each character is a joy to root for, except for the bad guys who are truly despicable.
If you’re jonesing for a hardcore and smart edge-of-your-seat thriller with a balanced worldview of characters and motivations with superb shootouts in nail-biting intensity, Dirty War is the perfect pick.
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