Bullets, bombs, and banknotes. The US Diplomatic Service is anything but another day at the office...
Just back from a deep cover assignment and looking forward to a vacation, DSS special agent Payton Ladd gets an urgent request to lead a manhunt in Baghdad. Civilian auditor Ben Ater, nephew or a powerful senator, has disappeared, and the Resident Security Officer (RSO) needs Payton to find him.
The fact that the RSO is Payton's old flame Catherine McCabe makes it harder for him to say no. Once in Baghdad, Payton retraces Ben's steps and talks to everyone who knows or claims to know why the young auditor mysteriously left the Green Zone. But the explanation that Ben was dealing drugs still doesn't explain why he went missing in the Red Zone, a place he had no business---legal or illegal---being.
As he continues to dig, Payton uncovers more pieces of Ben's puzzle that don't fit. He also provokes influential people, like the civilian head of the multinational corporation Titan United and the military head of the contractor program for the US Defense Department in Iraq. When some individuals Payton has interviewed end up dead and North Korean counterfeit "supernotes" appear all over Iraq, he is convinced that Ben wasn't kidnapped over anything as simple as a drug deal.
With the help of the embassy guard Marines, a team of special operators, DSS bomb specialists, Bedouin tribesmen, and a homemade drone, Payton discovers a web of conspiracy that could topple nations.
I was lucky enough to have this novel sent to me, and I definitely had an experience while reading it. I want to start by saying that this book is not like anything that I would normally read, even though it had elements of thrill in it. I'm not very into politics or international affairss/conflicts so it was a little hard for me to get through this.
I want to make it clear though, that I actually found some parts very interesting and fun to read. The chapters that highlighted Catherine and Payton's relationship were really cool, and it was nice to read through their interactions with each other. I also enjoyed reading some of the action packed adventures that Payton and some of his collegues went on, but had trouble understanding some of the lingo and the "political" aspects of what they were discussing. However, there is actually a really helpful abbreviation list in the back to help readers like me understand, which I thought was really smart to include.
I think the biggest thing for me was that it was completely out of my normal. Which is good and not so good in some cases. It, being so different, allowed me to explore new writers and new topics that are of interest to others, but at the same time, I couldn't always follow along with what was happening.
I liked the voice and tone of the novel a lot. This topic can be really intense and heavy in real life, and the way it was written made it a lot easier to read about and undestand in some respect. I also really enjoyed the length of the chapters. I like shorter chapters because I am more likely to read more if they aren't as long. Something else that I really liked was the word choice and the way that it was written overall. I found that the word choice allowed for me, as a reader, to visualize the setting and kind of place me in the story with the characters. I think the visualization really adds to the reading experience. I like it a lot.
If you are someone who is really invested and interested in international/foriegn affairs, adventure, and/or politics, I HIGHLY suggest this to you. I also suggest it for anyone who wants to branch out and try something new. Everyone is different, but I think that anyone who read this could definitely take something away from it.
Thank you to I. James Bertolina for writing Green Zone Jack and bringing our special agent, Payton, to life. Also, a very big shoutout to Jane at Ryder Author Resources for getting this copy out to me, you are awesome! My dear bookworms, go pick this up. It's worth it.