Review: Murder, mystery and intrigue
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 4, 2012
The story compellingly begins on the 10th September 2001, the eve of the 9-11 al-Qaeda attack in America, as an American expat on a two-year assignment awaits his wife and two-year-old son's arrival in Saudi Arabia.However, as we very quickly learn, "fate had written that this would be his last sleep.  Death awaited him this day"...and soon after his family's arrival, he and his wife are ruthlessly shot to death; their son mysteriously kidnapped.And so begins the sordid story of a sinister Al-Qaeda scheme, posed to kill tens of thousands of innocent Americans...and of FBI Agent Matt Slater, hungry for danger, adventure and excitement.Slater's initial mission is to solve the murder of the American couple and the puzzling kidnapping of their young son.  However, following a second double murder and abduction, it quickly becomes clear that the unfortunate events are intrinsically linked to the 9-11 Al-Qaeda attack and a dangerous mix of religious fanaticism and cultural bureaucracy.Given that Desert Song is the first in a series of Matt Slater's trilogy, it is an ideal starting point into his world of murder, mystery and intrigue.Its vivid descriptions of a place and a culture which, despite a barrage of media coverage following the events of 9-11, continues to remain a mystery to the every-day Westerner are penned by author Narendra Simone, who has travelled to more than 60 countries around the world, including Saudi Arabia.  A haunting yet insightful thriller on the very current and relevant form of religious and political terrorism that we have ill-fatedly come to know as Islamic terrorism.  Prepare for a page-turner!