North From Calcutta


Fiction - Intrigue
Kindle Edition
Reviewed on 06/19/2009
Buy on Amazon

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    Book Review

Reviewed by Anne Boling for Readers' Favorite

Duane Evans has used his CIA background to construct a very tight,detailed first novel of espionage and intrigue that takes place mainly in India and Pakistan. His main character,Tarek,a Pakistani ISI agent, is inbetween a rock and a hard place. He doesn`t know who to trust and spends a lot of time trying to figure out plots within plots and who the "bad guys" are. Finally,and just under the wire, he realizes that war between Pakistan and India is just around the corner. In a race against time, he and a few friends must try to prevent a catastrophe of worldwide proportions. As if Tarek does not have enough on his mind,he also has to save the "love of his life",an Indian architect that he met while posing as a Dubai businessman.

Duane Evans is a real detail man. Almost nothing is left out. His experience as a CIA officer has helped him write a novel that takes place in India,Pakistan,Bangladesh,Washington DC and other parts of the world. His characters are very well-developed. His plot (and plots within plots) is extrmely complex and the politics involved in this story is mind-boggling. For some, this could be just a bit too hard to grasp. There are many different people you have to keep track of in order to keep this all straight in your mind.

The beginning third of the book seems to plod along but this background info is necessary to flesh out the rest of the book. The book takes off in the middle and speeds up at the end with a very exciting finish.

Duane Evans is a very detailed writer with a tight grasp of the English language. If you love South Asian politics and terrorist plots,this book is right up you alley.