This is a tense, methodical look at what went wrong for U.S.

What ensues will prevent you from putting this book down - even to sleep - as Rik sets off on a new quest, as a favor to an old friend. The reunion does not go well, and they part company once again - only for Ingrid to court a disastrous end when the World Trade Center collapses. Inevitably, Ingrid walks through the doors of Rik’s place in 2001. The remainder of this fine psychological thriller details Rik’s return to civilization and his new life as a nightclub owner in the Big Apple ten years later. He still hopes to find Ingrid and share a toast to his release. He is released in cast-off clothes with nothing but a plane ticket to New York in one hand and a bottle of expensive wine - a whimsical parting gift from Yuhana - in the other. He has all but lost hope when word comes of the cease-fire. Indeed, this is a grim highlight of the book as the author vividly illustrates what happens to political prisoners in places like Iraq. The author’s description of Rik’s time in his dreadful, cramped cell is excruciating, watching his body shrivel and his mind slowly wither with it. The price Rik pays for his devotion to his departed love is 19 months inside Abu Ghraib - the prison of the dead.

Problem is, she has gone to the Kuwaiti front with a news crew, leaving a bewildered Rik at the mercy of the sadistic Tariq Yuhana, head of the Iraqi State Police. But in the end, he stays in Baghdad to save the woman he loves. You’ll swear you are standing beside Rik through every agonizing moment of uncertainty, fear and outright intimidation by Saddam’s goons as he makes plans to go to Riyadh to escape almost certain death. It is the eve of Saddam Hussein’s invasion of neighboring Kuwait, and this thrilling book gives a true-to-life account of covert activity surrounding the event, weaving in some very realistic diplomatic dialog from 1989. Sensitive files are burned and hurried plans are made to leave Iraq, under threat by Saddam’s secret police.īut what’s the cause of all this dire activity? The remark proves to be prophetic and sets off a flurry of frantic activity at the U.S. “The desert winds have shifted,” she says enigmatically one evening. It’s a strange way to start a romance - and an even stranger way to begin a clandestine relationship, feeding each other choice bits of information from highly placed sources. Thankfully, he steadies himself with a firm look into Ingrid’s lustrous, approving, emerald eyes and the two continue getting to know one another on the outdoor restaurant patio in pre-war-torn Baghdad.

The entire affair began with sheep brains and falafel - Saddam Hussein’s favorite dish.ĬIA operative Rik Bogart is trying to impress famed TV correspondent Ingrid Johansson at lunch one day in downtown Baghdad when the dubious delicacy threatens to rocket right back up into Rik’s bowl.

Rik's by D.H. Treichler