Operation Saladin

A suspenseful, behind-the-scenes look at espionage and politics through the eyes of a British journalist.

Croft (The Wayward Spy, 2010, etc.) once again intrigues his reader with this fast-paced sequel. Michael Vaux, a former MI6 agent, is based in Cairo, where he works as a journalist. On an otherwise ordinary day, he receives a hot news tip from a friend: On an otherwise ordinary day in 2000, Syria’s President Hafez Assad has died. This catalyst triggers more than just the next day’s headline; Vaux’s longtime friend, Ahmed Kadri, is arrested, and Vaux is soon embroiled in an intense investigation about any links he might have to MI6 as well as Kadri. Desperate for protection, Vaux leaves Cairo and resumes his relationship with MI6, his former employer that, despite tense relations with Vaux in the past, agrees to work with him in exchange for Vaux’s taking on a special assignment: Operation Saladin. This crucial, intensely dangerous assignment is a top-secret effort to aid the defection of Dr. Nessim Said, a Syrian nuclear physicist—along with his confidential information regarding Syria’s nuclear power. Vaux’s effort to smuggle Said out to the U.K. goes awry almost immediately when Said is mysteriously murdered and his notes taken, complicating Vaux’s ability to track down the secret files. As accusing fingers point to Mossad and other suspects, MI6 begins to cast a suspicious eye toward Vaux; soon, as his own life hangs in the balance, he can’t even trust his own employer. Tightly written and laden with dramatic tension, Vaux’s quest for truth and freedom is constantly tested, especially when his own friends become less and less trustworthy and his own safety is further compromised. Surprises lurk behind every character in this original storyline fraught with suspense.

A web of secrets and betrayal sure to grab spy-novel fans.