Review: Suspense, Romance, and Espionage Feature in this Fast-Paced Novel
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 18, 2014
“The Hell of Osirak” is a suspense novel that weaves together elements of historical fiction and erotica to create an exciting, entertaining read.The story is told through the alternating perspectives of Dvora and Nikki, both undercover agents—and at one time, they were lovers, although Dvora broke Nikki’s heart. Their turbulent past doesn’t mean they stop thinking about each other, though, and as Nikki embarks on a mission to recover an important microfilm and a foil a plot involving Iraqi nukes, they’re destined to cross paths once again.What I liked best about this novel is that the author does an excellent job of maintaining almost constant suspense—from a tense “layover” in Zaire to Nikki’s mission to become a powerful man’s mistress to gather intelligence about a nuclear bomb, each situation escalates breathlessly into the next. Behind the action, though, lies a romance—the story of two women who still long for each other despite years having passed and despite other loves in their lives. Dvora’s and Nikki’s personalities are also strong and come off the page to make them real people—Dvora is a bit more calculating and driven, and while Nikki may seem fragile she’s actually incredibly tough and tenacious. I also liked how they were both strong, competent women who were trusted with dangerous jobs—that’s a nice change in suspense/spy novels, which usually focus on men.I think this book would appeal to a wide audience—to historical fiction fans for the 1980s setting and the exploration of politics, corruption, and nukes; to erotica and romance fans for the frequent sensual scenes; and to suspense fans for the action and espionage elements. I would recommend it to readers of all three, and I’m interested to see where the trilogy goes.