THE GOOD JIHADIST

Matt Logan is a disillusioned SAS veteran struggling to adjust to life as a civilian.  He’s retired from military life, and is planning a quiet future for himself.  But then an act of terrorism changes his life forever.  He returns to Black Ops, and finds himself in Pakistan trying to unravel a complex jihadist network.  There he discovers a murky world of conspiracy and politics, where he can never really be sure who the enemy actually is.

Author Bob Shepherd is an ex-SAS soldier, and there’s no doubt that he knows his stuff.  The book is well written, the life of the British soldier in the middle of conflict accurately portrayed, the plot complex.  However, if you’re not particularly interested in the politics behind the Middle Eastern conflict, it can be a bit hard to follow at times.

Matt Logan is a well-drawn and realistic character.  He’s given a really rough time in this book, and you can’t help but feel sorry for him.  The plot is expertly woven, offering some surprising twists along the way, some of which involve the death of major characters.  This is not a book where you can predict what is going to happen next.

This is a competently plotted and well written book, but the subject matter made it a bit of struggle for me at times.  This book arrived on my desk just in time for me to pack it as holiday reading.  My husband, who doesn’t read crime but does enjoy stories with a military backdrop, also read it and thoroughly enjoyed it.  If you like fast-paced political thrillers, or plots flavoured with current events, then this book is for you.