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THE PERSIAN GAMBIT by Eugene Bull

THE PERSIAN GAMBIT

by Eugene Bull

Pub Date: Nov. 5th, 2011
ISBN: 978-0615547695
Publisher: Silent Rivers Press

A wrongfully accused government employee goes on a global trek, exposing clandestine operations and eluding men who circumvent obstacles with violence and murder.

Peter Graser, an analyst for the U.S. State Department, is at a party, keeping an eye on Irina Belakova, a woman who works for Russian intelligence but is being paid by the State Department for information relating to the Iranian ambassador to the U.N., with whom Irina is having an affair. Also in attendance is the assistant secretary for Intelligence and Research, who collapses and dies mere seconds after speaking with Peter. This is just the beginning of an elaborate series of events that ultimately proves to be a frame-up against Peter: an unsanctioned memo sent from his computer, a failed polygraph test and fingerprints connecting him to a murder weapon. Significant plot points accumulate quickly, but the story never feels convoluted. It’s more like a secret slowly being revealed, as details are introduced but not fully explained until later, such as Peter’s family fleeing Iran when he was young, how his family died and Roya, an Iranian woman he’s known since childhood. Peter’s association with Roya only deepens the suspicion against him. Their relationship is a narrative highpoint, their forbidden love and opposing political ideals making them an international Romeo and Juliet. Peter absconds to other countries, going first to London, where he investigates the hazy particulars of his father’s death. Once in the Middle East, Peter unravels a potential uprising, but on a much grander scale than he can anticipate. A steady pace is maintained throughout, and while there are more leisurely moments to piece together the ongoing threads of the story, there are numerous revelations and twists to throw readers back into the story headfirst.

Filled with explosions, multiple double crossings and distrust among the characters—all the ingredients for an unyielding political thriller running full tilt.