OnlineBookClub.org
4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Uri is an Israeli, and one of the few members of the Metsada, the Special Operations arm of Mossad. In one of his recent, prior mission, Uri had extracted notes from a Hezbollah operative that had on oddly out of place word, “Opera.” After being summoned to the headquarters in Tel Aviv by General K, Uri is briefed about his next mission. He is told that ‘Opera’ is a software package that allows access to the web pages, which terrorists use to communicate with each other. These websites, which are disguised as academic websites, are based in the United States of America. So Uri is to go there to work with the FBI to investigate further. Lara is an American, and she's with the FBI. She is highly skilled in computers. She has appended computer programs, making them more efficient in monitoring, and identifying emails and messages that are suspiciously linked to terrorism. She works well with Uri; she even falls in love with him. Things go south real quick when there is an explosion in Marina del Rey harbour in Los Angeles, and they both race against the clock to catch these terrorists before more people can die.
Walid is a Pakistani who got recruited by Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, in 1999 when he was only 16 years old. He is now based in Los Angeles, studying computer sciences, but is still under the thump of Nasrallah. Hossein is an Iranian who also got recruited by Hezbollah. He studied nuclear engineering at North Carolina State University. While doing his Master’s program, he was researching how to make an atomic bomb, on the side, secretly. He now successfully creates a bomb and delivers it to Walid, who takes it to Marina del Rey harbour and detonates it. Will the United States government give in to the demands made by Hezbollah? If not, can Lara and Uri find these terrorists in time? What will happen to Walid now that he has killed thousands of innocent people?
East Wind, 2nd edition is the first instalment in the Uri and Lara series written by Jack Winnick. It is a crime thriller that is jam-packed with action and suspense. This book’s plot is so raw and authentic that it never failed to keep me on edge with its twists and turns. It is so poignant that readers will have no choice but to flip the pages because they would be eager to know what will happen next.
I loved everything about this book, especially this duo of Lara and Uri. Both these individuals complimented and balanced each other. Uri had a big experience in fieldwork and combat, while Lara was experienced in computers. I loved how professional they were. They never let the feelings they had for each other cloud their judgement or distract them on the job. Jack Winnick developed these protagonists so realistically-well because they all had their doubts about falling in love with each other. Uri had an unfinished business with his ex, while Lara was not so sure about dating a colleague. It was also fun to witness the politics between the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. The quarrels between these two over the jurisdiction of this case made the story more interesting.
I understand why the author titled this book East Wind; it is an interesting feature that you will have to read this book yourself to find out about it.
The narration was well balanced with the dialogue. The author painted scenes so accurately vivid that readers will be drawn inside the story; they won’t feel like they are outside looking in. The dialogue was real and had no glitches. It was flowing so well that I was jumping from one character to another with ease. It was written in the third-person point of view. There are many characters who are well-developed, with their backstories provided so that readers can understand them. Indeed the author’s penmanship is something to be marvelled at.
There is nothing I disliked about this book. It seems to be professionally edited as I came across no grammatical and typographical errors. There are very few swear words, which are far between. There is a scene that is graphically described so readers who are faint-hearted might feel slightly uncomfortable. Sexual scenes are few but not explicitly detailed. I rate East Wind, 2nd edition by Jack Winnick 4 out of 4 stars. This book is a job well done. I recommend it to readers who are into crime thriller and suspense. Treason, government cyber-monitoring, conflicts in the Middle East, and of course, terrorism and mass-murdering are themes that this book is centred on.
******
East Wind, 2nd edition
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
. Thank you for your recommendation and your great work!
