Review: Red Sea by E.A. Benedek

I was very excited to read Emily Benedek's novel, Red Sea. Thanks to TLC Book Tours for allowing me to participate in this tour. I haven't read this genre of books in awhile and was looking forward to reading it. And a big thank you to author Emily Benedek for sending me the book!

From the beginning of the book, The Red Sea reminded me of Tom Clancey's early novels - lots of characters, a little back story, espionage, intrigue.

From the back of the book: Four airplanes are blown out of the sky…hundreds of civilians are dead, and the world is gripped by fear. As young American reporter Marie Peterssen investigates the attacks, she meets Julian Granot, a mysterious Israeli operative who offers her an enticing lead—one that points them to maverick FBI agent Morgan Ensley and the ravages of war-torn Iraq.

Soon Marie, Julian, and Morgan discover a connection between the crashes and a devastating plot to detonate a nuclear bomb in a New York City port—and time is running out. As Marie races to stop a sophisticated network of terrorists, she stumbles upon a shocking revelation: she may have a deep personal connection to the Islamic mastermind behind the attacks. Now she will stop at nothing to uncover the truth. But it could cost Marie and her team the mission…and their lives.

This was a plot-driven, exciting novel that I enjoyed reading. The situations were realistic, the technology current. It was a very believable novel in that the terrorists as well as the government agencies and people were all very real and I could easily see it unfolding. I especially liked the interaction between the Israeli agencies and the Americans. I am sure there are lots of work done through normal channels as well as through personal interactions in the intelligence community just as it is elsewhere. The characterization of the Israeli organization and people I found enjoyable and felt real to me. Obviously I have no inside knowledge and am sure my views are very American-centered (we Americans are generally much more clueless about other countries than they are about us).

I was a bit disappointed in the characters as I felt there could have been a bit more back story to each of the characters and more about why they reacted the way they did. I don't think this hurt the story but better character development definitely would have enhanced my enjoyment of the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Red Sea and am hoping that there will be more in the series. This book has got me interested in reading these types of books again.

Thanks again to TLC Book Tours for sponsoring this tour. Look here for an interview with author Emily Benedek!

Rating: 4/5 stars