Security Day refers to the weekly supply convoy that everyone – the US Military and local populace alike – relies on in the Uruzgan province during the Afghan war. To ward off attacks by the Taliban, the US has entered into a lucrative financial arrangement with Afghan General Mir Hamza Khan to protect the trucks as they traverse the desert. However, as the American’s start planning for their withdrawal from the area, General Khan is faced with a threat to his wealth and power and will do anything to keep them both. Enter Dan Bing, a new intelligence agent with a desire to prove himself despite those around him counting the days until they go home. He recruits spies to help him prove General Khan is dirty and working against the US while taking their money. But nothing is simple in Afghanistan and everyone is at risk during this high-stakes cat-and-mouse game.
Matt Cricchio leverages his real-world experience as an interrogator and spy handler in the US Navy to deliver a compelling story about dubious allies, treacherous enemies and competing agendas in the Uruzgan province during the war in Afghanistan. Featuring fantastic characters at all levels of social, economic and military status, Security Day provides an intriguing look at the strategy and movements of the key players within a life-and-death chess match where trust is essential yet impossibly elusive.
And given Security Day is based on a true story, the reader will wonder how much of this book occurred as written vs. what was fictionalized for effect. I’d love to ask the author directly, but this 100% smells like a “I could tell you, but I’d have to kill you” situation and I have no doubt that Matt Cricchio has the ability and means to follow through on that statement. So, let’s put that wondering aside and just appreciate Security Day for what it is – a well-constructed, twisting and turning tale navigating the ambiguity of war where everyone puts their own self-interests and self-preservation above all else.
Security Day puts you on the ground in the middle of the action to feel the desperate struggle for survival of all involved, providing a deeper understanding of what it must be like to make critical decisions when faced with nothing but difficult/bad options in a war zone. Fans of military thrillers, especially those set in Afghanistan, would be well served to pick up a copy of this novel and learn from the author’s on-the-ground experience.
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