Damascus Station (a Novel)

By (author) McCloskey, David
Description

CIA case officer Sam Joseph is dispatched to Paris to recruit Syrian Palace official Mariam Haddad. The two fall into a forbidden relationship, which supercharges Haddad’s recruitment and creates unspeakable danger when they enter Damascus to find the man responsible for the disappearance of an American spy.

But the cat and mouse chase for the killer soon leads to a trail of high-profile assassinations and the discovery of a dark secret at the heart of the Syrian regime, bringing the pair under the all-seeing eyes of Assad’s spy catcher, Ali Hassan, and his brother Rustum, the head of the feared Republican Guard. Set against the backdrop of a Syria pulsing with fear and rebellion, Damascus Station is a gripping thriller that offers a textured portrayal of espionage, love, loyalty, and betrayal in one of the most difficult CIA assignments on the planet.

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"A truly sensational read! In fact, Damascus Station is the best spy novel I have ever read. David McCloskey experienced Syria firsthand as a CIA analyst, and he delivers a thrilling, graphic, gripping, and realistic—albeit fictional—portrayal of the CIA and the bloody, tragic Syrian uprising. I lived this extraordinarily frustrating episode in Agency history, and I could not put this book down."
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"The nightmare of the Syrian civil war is vividly portrayed by David McCloskey in Damascus Station. He captures the places and people—and most of all, the sickening feeling in the gut—of this war that shattered poor Syria while America mostly watched. As a former CIA officer, McCloskey gets the details right—not just the little ones about mistimed clocks on the wall at Headquarters but the big ones about trying to keep faith with people in a faithless business. This isn’t just a realistic spy novel, it’s real life."
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"Damascus Station tells the tragic story of Syria''s descent into chaos and the price paid by its people during the Assad regime''s brutal crackdown. The power of this book is that it tells this devastating story through the eyes of those who suffered and survived because of love, the human relationship, and the power of what makes life worth living."
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"[A] gripping, well-written page turner that is part-thriller, part-love story, part-spy tale, and part-historical fiction concerning Syria and the Arab Spring. Any one of those elements on their own makes it well worth reading; the combination makes it compelling."
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"[An] exciting spy thriller."
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"Damascus Station is simply marvellous storytelling...a stand-out thriller and essential reading for fans of the genre."
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"[T]his propulsive thriller is at once a master class in spy craft and a poignant story of forbidden love set during the brutal Syrian civil war."
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"I''m a fan of spy thrillers, and I just read the best one I''ve consumed in decades …. I’ve never known a writer as good at the spy novel as John LeCarre, but McCloskey approaches. We''re watching the emergence of a remarkable talent."
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"[T]ruly one of the finest entries into the modern spy thriller genre. In a field groaning with ludicrous plots, absurd characters, and laughable “espionage,” McCloskey—a former CIA analyst—has crafted a book that goes back to the roots of what makes a spy thriller great, the spying."
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"[A] swift dive into the lethal, nebulous world of CIA operations in the Middle East…Damascus Station is a breathless ride."
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"An extremely effective modern espionage novel, filled with action and incident but also a profound knowledge of the people and factions of Syria, the complex maneuvers of spycraft, the gray a