Beirut Station by Paul Vidich #BookReview #BlogTour

 A stunning new espionage novel by a master of the genre, Beirut Station follows a young female CIA officer whose mission to assassinate a high-level, Hezbollah terrorist reveals a dark truth that puts her life at risk. 

Lebanon, 2006. The Israel–Hezbollah war is tearing Beirut apart: bombs are raining down, residents are scrambling to evacuate, and the country is on the brink of chaos. 

In the midst of this turmoil, the CIA and Mossad are targeting a reclusive Hezbollah terrorist, Najib Qassem. Najib is believed to be planning the assassination of Secretary of State, who is coming to Beirut in ten days to broker a ceasefire. 

They turn to a young Lebanese-American CIA agent. Analise comes up with the perfect plan: she has befriended Qassem's grandson, and will use this friendship to locate the terrorist and kill him. As the plan goes into action, though, Analise begins to suspect that Mossad has a motive of its own. 

She alerts the agency but their response is for her to drop it. Analise is now the target and there is no one she can trust: not the CIA, not Mossad, and not the Lebanese government. And the one person she might have to trust -- a reporter for the New York Times -- might not be who he says he is… 

A tightly-wound international thriller, Beirut Station is Paul Vidich's best novel to date. 

It's my pleasure to be hosting the blog tour for Beirut Station, many thanks to Paul Vidich, No Exit Press and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours.

I have read a number of Paul Vidich's Cold War spy era novels and thoroughly enjoyed them all. He opts for a change of scene in his latest books, however, although the action moves to the Middle East and forwards a few decades to a hotter conflict, the meticulously plotted, compelling narrative I have come to associate with this leading writer of espionage fiction is as apparent as ever.

It is 2006 and the 34-day Israel-Hezbollah war has just broken out. Analise Assad is a Lebanese-American whose dual roles both see her thrust into the action. She is in Beirut under non-official cover with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and it's through that position that she is able to manipulate the grandson of a wanted Hezbollah terrorist into becoming an unwitting asset for a joint CIA and Mossad assassination plot. As a non-official agent, her true identity is only known to a few, including Aldrich, the seasoned CIA Chief of Station. The pair have a fascinating relationship; they are not particularly close and yet he is still a sort of mentor to her, even though she is never entirely sure whether the concerns he expresses are the words of an experienced, intuitive spy or a cynically jaded alcoholic. 

Trust, or rather the lack of it, lies at the heart of Beirut Station and it makes for a tense read throughout. Analise has an uneasy relationship with the Mossad operatives, Gal and most notably Bauman and throughout the book, her knowledge of the latter is consistently questioned by friends and those who purport to be friendly but who have dangerous connections. It's not a healthy existence and although Annalise knows she is coming to the end of her tour, she becomes increasingly paranoid as her already tenuous safety grows even more precarious. Paul Vidich is always excellent at exploring the humanity behind spycraft and in the determined, morally conflicted Analise, he has a superbly engaging protagonist. 

The atmospheric descriptions of Beirut bring the troubled city to life but while car bombs, fear and death populate the pages, there are also reminders of its beauty and long history. Meanwhile, Analise's on the ground skills are complemented by her intelligent doubts and cautious compassion. She is an intriguing character, as are the enigmatic, manipulative Bauman, and Corbin, the New York Times war reporter with whom she has a relationship apparently borne of convenience for them both. As disturbing revelations come to light, the taut, character-driven plot becomes even more edgily compulsive and I raced through the final third of the book.

In Beirut Station, Paul Vidich artfully combines all the breathtaking drama and suspense of an intricately plotted thriller with a thoughtfully nuanced examination into the tragic complexities of a motivating fusion of revenge, loss and loyalty. The result is an exciting, riveting read from start to finish, I highly recommend it.

Beirut Station is published in the UK by No Exit Press. purchasing links can be found here or order from your favourite independent bookshop.

Follow the blog tour, details are below.

About the Author

Paul Vidich has had a distinguished career in music and media. Most recently, he served as Special Advisor to AOL and was Executive Vice President at the Warner Music Group, in charge of technology and global strategy. He serves on the Board of Directors of Poets & Writers and The New School for Social Research. A founder and publisher of the Storyville App, Vidich is also an award-winning author of short fiction. His novels, An Honorable Man, The Good Assassin, The Coldest Warrior, The Mercenary and The Matchmaker are also available from No Exit Press.

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