Lotus in the Sand

What appealed to me about “Lotus in the Sand” was the fact that this novel takes place in Iraq, outside your regular murder stories scenarios, with an unlikely hero who is the head of a private security company.
Hamish McFarlane is an Afghan war veteran who is sent to conduct a security assessment following a brutal and untypical terrorist attack on a seismic measuring crew in a remote oil field. As the plot unravels, aided by the beautiful American aid worker Claire, Hamish discovers that there are certain British commercial intrigues that play part in this mystery, and is set to sort things up. Friends are discovered as enemies, enemies as friends, but who can he really trust?
I thought this was a promising debut novel, and I certainly acknowledge that the author has extensive knowledge on which he wrote. As a debut novel this was certainly good enough and made me want to read more from Maroza in the future.
However, while the novel was very believable when describing the Iraq end of the scope, I did not get the same feeling reading the UK based events of the novel. At some point the pace became frantic, and the plot became too simple. Greed greed greed, as always.
I also did not like the sub plot of Noori and his aunt in England. I thought it was slightly detached.
Having said the above, this was an unexpected good find among the many titles NetGalley has to offer and I think Maroza has a few good books in him through the voice of Hamish McFarlane, especially if he focuses more on the security side of the story. Engaging sub stories such as the battle in the village or the standoff in the checkpoint were fascinating and would definitely make me want to read more in the future. 4/5 stars.

One gets the impression some of the aspects of the story are from the author's life, which helps add to the realism at times. This is a pretty good thriller and reads pretty fast. It takes place in a part of the world I (and probably many readers) know little about, which may part of it's appeal. A solid thriller overall.

Thanks very much for the review copy!!

Unusual read for me, but I love a good thriller from time to time. Maroza has got it right with Lotus in the Sand, it's full of suspense and a real page turner!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.