Sleeper 13

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.

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.

This is not a book I would usually pick up, but I got intrigued by the blurb and tried it. It turned out to be a good instinct. Given it's subject matter, a Jihadi plot to bring down the main cities in Europe in a concentrated attack, and a rogue sleeper agent, it is a timely novel and is set so recently that anyone will be easily able to situate the context of the novel. Overall it is a fast paced novel that offers an interesting perspective on the recruitment (or lack thereof) of Jihadi suicide bombers and assassins. It exposes the emanating techniques and training methods (obviously difficult to verify) while also pinpointing the boundaries of the western powers and how these are transgressed in a looming crisis. The main two characters are well developed and offer a good story line, and I for one will eagerly await the sequel.

Wow give me a minute to catch my breath! What a thrilling, engrossing, action packed and scary read Sleeper 13 was.

This book seemed so real to me, I felt that all the action in the book could actually happen. The use of ‘the farm’ to train young children was really scary and quite a brutal method for such young kids. Even though I knew what they were being trained for I still felt very sorry for them as you could almost feel their fear of their teacher at times.

The story is told from the point of view of both Rachel, a M15 agent and Aydin or Sleeper 13. Rachel was a brilliant character who is obviously very good at her job and takes no nonsense from anyone, least of all her colleagues. I couldn’t believe that they didn’t believe her, especially given the increase in terrorism they are meant to be seeing! Her determination to push on and try and find out more about the terrorist group and their supposed plot was fantastic to read about and I really admired her drive. The two story lines helped give the reader a more holistic view of the story and I thought it turned into a bit of a cat and mouse came as events escalate and the two characters draw closer to each other.

This is a superbly plotted book with lots of action happening in many different countries which definetly kept my interest. There are a few slightly disturbing and gory bits which won’t be to everyone’s taste but is obviously, sadly, part of terrorism.

This is a fantastic start to a new series and I can’t wait to read the next installment! If you like thrilling, action packed and realistic thrillers then you need to read this book!

Huge thanks to Poppy Stimpson and Orion for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.

Rob Sinclair has written an intense, action packed, adrenaline fuelled violent thriller on the relevant contemporary issue of global terrorism. A young 9 year old boy, Aydin Torkal, is abducted by his father and placed in The Farm, a jihadi training camp in Afghanistan run by The Teacher. He is trained with 12 other boys to become a ruthless, elite insurgent human weapon, subject to trauma and torture. The boys have no contact with their families, are brainwashed, have no identity, known only by a number, Aydin is number 13. Aydin, however, unlike the other boys is not a believer. After learning of his twin sister, Nilay's murder, Aydin's rage leads him to kill and presents him with an opportunity to escape, looking for revenge on those responsible for him becoming a ruthless, cold blooded, human killing machine.

MI5 agent, Rachel Cox, has been collating intel on this elite group of killers, coming across Nilay who was asking questions about her brother before she was killed. Rachel has worries that plans are afoot that involve mass attacks in numerous locations in Europe as she tries to locate the 13 members of the jihadi group. With Aydin being pursued by his terrorist group and MI5, will Aydin and Rachel manage to prevent these harrowing atrocities? This is a fast paced, and brutal read, with huge twists with a compelling storyline and short chapters that keep you completely hooked from beginning to end. Sinclair has written a fantastic gutwrenching thriller of our times with brilliant characterisation, which I recommend highly. Many thanks to Orion for an ARC.