"Slow Burn:The !7th Spider Shepherd Thriller” written by Stephen Leather and published in hardcover and kindle by Hodder & Stoughton on 23rd Jyly 2020. 400 pages ISBN-13: 978-1473671973
This must be the best book by the author that I have ever read. He has written many books but this could easily be his first as the author is so adept at his craft that there is a freshness and innovation to his writing that makes it truly exceptional.
There are thousands of jihadi brides in refugee camps in the Middle East. Some of them were once British before they were stripped of their citizenship. Were they brainwashed or simply naive when they set out for Syria as teenagers? And, if they were allowed to return, would they pose a threat to our country?
Spider Shepherd is about to be sent on an extraordinary mission to the Syrian border by his MI5 boss. There he will have to decide which of the women he meets is still a threat, and if not, which of them has information useful to the Secret Service and can be allowed back. His are life or death decisions.
But there is one bride he must take back to the UK whatever her circumstances. She is the wife of a notorious ISIS bombmaker, Salam Jaraf. Jaraf is an asylum seeker who has information on terrorist cells in Britain. But the bombmaker will only tell MI5 what he knows if his wife and son are brought to him. However, it soon becomes obvious that hostile forces are following Spider and Mrs Jaraf across Turkey. Bringing this woman back from the warzone will become one of the most dangerous missions Spider has ever undertaken.
The story is very violent and bloody and there are scenes of torture that may upset readers of a more sensitive nature but they had to be included because they were very necessary to the very detailed story. The tension between the different personalities and the excellent characterisation make this a highly enjoyable thriller..
As a former journalist for ten years on newspapers such as The Times in London and The South China Morning Post in Hong Kong before becoming a novelist, the author is highly skilled in researching in depth before writing his stories and the authenticity of that highly detailed research is clearly shown in the meticulous descriptions and prose of his stories.
It is not a handicap to the new reader that this is Leather’s 17th book in the “Spider” Shepherd series as full explanations are given about all the characters and aspects of the plot.
Stephen Leather is one of the UK’s most successful thriller writers, an e-book and Sunday Times bestseller and author of the critically acclaimed Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd series and the Jack Nightingale supernatural detective novels. Born in Manchester, he has been writing full time since 1992. His bestsellers have been translated into fifteen languages and several of his novels have been turned into films. In 2011 alone he sold more than half a million e-books and was voted by 'The Bookseller' magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the UK publishing world.
This seasoned writer is at the top of his game and immersing yourself in his world is deeply rewarding as it is a spellbinding and quite brilliant read. SLOW BURN is an extremely enjoyable book and a rattling good read. It was well written and therefore easy to read, even though it is quite lengthy at 400 pages but it is very cleverly plotted and I was completely gripped until the final exciting paragraph. I believe that this was the author's best book so far.
Extremely well recommended.
Terry Halligan,
(Advance copy from the publisher in exchange for a fair review).st him are real. The minister he is protecting is kidnapped, and it soon becomes apparent that the murder, the threats and the minister's kidnap are all interconnected...
