How to betray your country by James Wolff

 Name of Book: How to betray your country

Author: James Wolff

ISBN: 978-1-913394-51-6

Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press

Part of a Series: Beside a Syrian Sea prequel

Type of book: spying, spies, middle East, operation, Turkey, job, PR, United Kingdom, contemporary times, mystery, thriller, secrets 

Year it was published: 2021

Summary:

Disgraced British spy August Drummond is on his way to Istanbul when he sees a passenger throw away directions to a cemetery just moments before being arrested. August can’t resist the temptation to go in his place. But when he comes face to face with a terrifying figure from Islamic State, he realizes he’s about to confront the greatest challenge of his career…Things are looking bad for disgraced spy August Drummond. In emotional free fall after the death of his wife, fired for a series of unprecedented security breaches… and now his neighbor on the flight to Istanbul won’t stop talking. The only thing keeping him sane is the hunch that there’s something not quite right about the nervous young man several rows ahead – a hunch that is confirmed when August watches him throw away directions to an old European cemetery seconds before being detained by Turkish police. A reckless August decides to go to the cemetery, where he meets a mysterious figure from the dark heart of the Islamic State and quickly finds himself drawn into a shadowy plot to murder an Iranian scientist in Istanbul. But nothing is what it seems, and before long August realises he has gone too far to turn back. As he struggles to break free from the clutches of Islamic State and play off British intelligence against their Turkish counterparts, he will find his resourcefulness, ingenuity and courage tested to the very limit of what he can endure. The second novel in a trilogy about loyalty and betrayal in the modern world, How to Betray Your Country is an authentic thriller about the thin line between following your conscience and following orders.

Characters:

Main character is August Drummond, a highly specialized British spy. He was recently married and lost his wife not too long ago. He is best described as a daredevil, also someone who loves challenges and who acts first but questions later. There are many other characters such as his enemy of sorts, then the recruiter into an extremist Islamist group who has his own secrets to hide, and a Turkish man who seems extremely friendly towards Augustus and has his own agenda. 

Theme:

Be careful whom you trust 

Plot:

The story is in third person narrative primarily from Augusts point of view, although other characters also get a chance to tell their points of view. The tale begins in an airplane where August discovers a spy and he decides to take over the spys role and at the same time try to infiltrate into an extremists group by being bad and incompetent as well as take up some sort job which might involve him dealing with an enemy. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

James Wolff worked for the British government for over ten years. He lives in London. His first novel, Beside the Syrian Sea, was published in 2018, and his second, How to Betray Your Country, was published in 2021.

Opinion:

This is the first time i am reading James Wolff, and this particular book, although well written and highly atmospheric, isn't a standalone but is a sequel to BESIDE THE SYRIAN SEA, which I hadn't read, and which kind of spoiled this book for me because everything carried over from first book, or so I sensed during my journey,  and I get a feeling if you didn't read first book, then you will be in a dark when it comes to this story. I have read books or stories that one can enjoy without reading the previous novels, but not in this case.  In conclusion, good writing and excellent realistic research or so, but reading first book is a must to enjoy this one. 

This was given for review 

3 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)