Sam Joseph is tasked with recruiting a disaffected government official, an asset in Espionage parlance. And, while Damascus Station provided elements of suspense and excitement, there were not enough of them and they were spaced too far apart for me view it as an attention-holding read. Sam, as a well-worn field officer, knows that the route he’s travelling down when he first kissed Mariam. 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. Getting into a relationship with an asset signals immediate disciplinary action and separation from the Agency.

He’d had the drilling at the Farm – ‘never get involved emotionally’ – but the heart sometimes rules the head. Well I had high hopes for this book, which quickly were dashed by shoddy writing, poor character development, and a plot that was like a Twinkie without the filling---quite unsatisfying. A seasoned CIA operative with a complex past, Joseph is portrayed with a depth that goes beyond the stereotypical spy archetype. 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.For Sam, an affair with an asset is a firing offense that could get him summarily dismissed from the CIA. Over the last year I have read a few spy novels I considered some of the best ever written and Damascus Station might be the best of the lot. We use Google Analytics to see what pages are most visited, and where in the world visitors are visiting from. However, I must admit that, while I found Damascus Station to be interesting enough to finish, I felt that, overall, it was just an okay read.

As Sam Joseph dives headfirst into the intricate world of intelligence, readers are treated to a rollercoaster of twists and turns that keep them guessing until the very end. That’s because, for me, the pace of the book too often got bogged down by the author providing so much descriptive detail about so many aspects within the plot and its characters that I found myself putting the book aside for long stretches of time. The strength of "Damascus Station" lies in McCloskey's meticulous attention to detail and his ability to create a palpable atmosphere of tension and suspense.The writing is fine, the characters well-drawn, and the action moves along at a pace that's breakneck but often seems unhurried. His plan is to hunt down a brutal pair of brothers who are not only Syrian Palace officials, they’re also responsible for kidnapping and torturing a female American spy to death. The Syrian Civil War he launched against peaceful protestors in 2011 as the Arab Spring swirled throughout the Middle East has cost as many as 600,000 lives, more than one of every fifty of Syria’s twenty-two million people.

From an exfiltration gone awry to a stunning endgame, Damascus Station takes the reader on a breathtaking journey in war-torn Syria. 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. His flaws, vulnerabilities, and unwavering determination make him a compelling protagonist whose every move is as calculated as it is unpredictable.

Back in the US, he is assigned once again to Syria, the titular Damasus Station, and on the way stops in Paris to recruit a palace official, Mariam Haddad.

He struggles to hold his distance and assumes that once in Damascus, they will see each other only as the mission requires. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. If anyone in the Palace finds out, she would face torture and would almost certainly be shot as a traitor.

In a program managed by his Republican Guard, officials in the novel are amassing thousands of tons of sarin. The denouement of Damascus Station is satisfying, especially after the phenomenal intensity of the scenes leading up to it, and one that I was so delighted to see. When I started reading Damascus Station by Mr David McCloskey, it was amidst the accolades and superlatives surrounding the book. Of course, Mariam is a stunning knockout and, against all protocol, a passionate love affair blossoms between these unlikely allies. For more details, please consult the latest information provided by Royal Mail's International Incident Bulletin.