Sleeper 13 Rob Sinclair

This is the first Rob Sinclair book I've read but it certainly isn't going to be the last.

For years my favourite author was Robert Ludlum, with books like the Matarese Circle and The Icarus Agenda. Then I found Tom Clancy and his Jack Ryan books. Both of these writers produced brilliant Iron Curtain spy and counter espionage books.

The world has moved on, and the threats from terrorism have taken over from the threats from the Soviet Block.

Rob Sinclair has taken over the Ludlum/Clancy crown at the very top of the suspense novel genre, and writes about the modern day every bit as good as Ludlum and Clancy wrote about the Soviet threat.

Sleeper 13, Aydin, is a young man who as a boy was taken from his London home by his father, and passed over to a Jihad terrorist school, The Farm, where he became one of 13 boys who were taught how to be dangerous terrorists. Then, in the finest fashion of the old soviet spy schools, they were sent back to their own countries all over Europe to wreak havoc.

Living a normal life the 13 sleepers wait for instruction from their leader. Number 1, Wahid a vicious thug who rose to the top because of his brutality at The Farm.

Rachel cox is a British Secret Service agent who has heard rumours of the existence of The Farm and its 13 graduates and is trying to substantiate their existence.

Working in Syria she has several informants one of them is Aydin's sister, Nilay, who looking for her brother.

When Nilay is killed in a suicide bombing it's not just Rachel who's affected. Aydin sees her death reported on the news.

This is enough for the already conflicted Aydin to break away from his role in the upcoming terrorist attacks and seek out those responsible for his sister's death. When it becomes apparent that his fellow graduates had ordered her death because she was getting close to exposing them he is left with only one mission. Kill them, but most of all, Kill the man he holds responsible Wahid.

Meanwhile Cox is still having trouble convincing her bosses of the existence of the 13 and the threat they impose.

Working towards the same target, but for different reasons, Cox and Aydin race across Europe attempting to reach members of the 13. Cox is trying to thwart one of the worst imaginable terrorist attacks, Aydin is trying to revenge his sister's death by killing his "brother" Wahid.

Pages: 432
Publisher: Orion
Publishing Date UK: 1st march 2018.

This book shocked me. You see the terrible carnage by the IS on TV so often and you wonder what drives them to commit such atrocities. This book gives a detailed insight into the Islamic State with their motives, beliefs and methods of indoctrination. It shows how vicious and cunning they are and how intelligently they plot & plan. They are experts in the shocking things they do to prepare for an attack. What most appalled me is how they took the 13 young children to brainwash them to make them into terrorists. Those who didn't comply were at risk of being killed. Life is cheap. It terrifies me at how ingenious they are at what they do. A brilliant, gripping ending. Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group.

This was a fast paced thriller which kept me on the edge of my seat. The theme is really current bearing in mind recent terrorist atrocities all over Europe.
13 young boys have been removed from their homes and brought up to be jihadi fighting machines by The Teacher who is both cruel and fanatical. They are smuggled to The Farm in Afghanistan and never see their families again.
Aydin or number 13 is kidnapped by his father and taken to the farm at the age of 9.
M15 agent Rachel Cox is desperately searching for the 13 fearing a terrorist plot is underway with these brainwashed men as lead players.
The story moves between Aydin who shows humanity despite the jihadi training and Rachel who has to defy her boss to keep the investigation going.
When Aydin’s twin sister is killed he escapes from his terrorist masters and plans revenge on those responsible.
I enjoyed the way the novel switched between Rachel and Aydin as the reader could see what was happening from two perspectives. The flashbacks to the farm were chilling and helped to fill in Aydin’s background. In fact by the end of the book I felt I knew him better than Rachel.
This is a real rollercoaster of a read full of action and excitement and I whizzed through it in a couple of days.
The end was great and paved the way for a possible sequel which I would be very happy to read.
This is perfect for spy thriller lovers and fans of I Am Pilgrim,Orphan X and the Gabriel Allon series by Daniel Silva.
I suggest you look out for this book in the Summer when it is published as I’m sure it will do very well.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for a review.

Where to start? I could not put down this book. Some readers may say that the plot is brave for today, considering the numerous recent terrorist atrocities. Some may question how the author managed to research the content. I, however, found the plot fascinating and terrifying at the same time. The pace skipped along and I liked the flashbacks to the ‘farm’. I could really see this being made into a film and liked the fact that the reader is left dangling, wondering if there could be a sequel. Thoroughly enjoyed and recommended.