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A review by fatigue
A Most Wanted Man by John le Carré
adventurous
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
In a post-9/11 world, a young boy finds himself in Hamburg illegally and seeks refuge with a Turkish boxer and his mother. He's a Muslim Chechen, who has been in prison numerous times, escaped to Hamburg, and only wants to be a doctor. He figures that his best bet to reach his end goal is to find the banker that has access to his father's fortune, his father being part of the Russian mafia. He gets in touch with a human rights lawyer whose family is highly connected (diplomatically) but she tries to pave her own path largely with idealism. A former client of hers was shipped off unceremoniously from Hamburg and she never heard from him again. She doesn't want a repeat. Meanwhile the banker, largely estranged from his daughter and in a crumbling marriage, resents his father for dealing with the Russian mafia, and wants to help this lawyer.
German, British, and American intelligence assume the boy is part of the Islamic jihadi movement, and attempt to figure out who he's working for. While the Germans and Brits attempt to use him to get to a Muslim scholar who they suspect funds a lot of terrorist attacks, the Americans have a different plan (extraordinary rendition ).
Unlike most spy thrillers, this isn't a rollercoaster filled with action. It focuses more on the strategic and the long game and the politics between various factions of law enforcement, both within a country and across countries.
German, British, and American intelligence assume the boy is part of the Islamic jihadi movement, and attempt to figure out who he's working for. While the Germans and Brits attempt to use him to get to a Muslim scholar who they suspect funds a lot of terrorist attacks, the Americans have a different plan (
Unlike most spy thrillers, this isn't a rollercoaster filled with action. It focuses more on the strategic and the long game and the politics between various factions of law enforcement, both within a country and across countries.