Customer Reviews

The Chameleon Conspiracy (Dan Gordon Intelligence Thriller)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Like many people, I like reading a good "who dunnit" mystery story. When I first started the book, I wasn't sure that I was going to like this book - by the time I got into the second chapter, I was captivated! I didn't want to put the book down, I stayed up late just to read it and I put off production to get through this book.

This story takes you on a trip to many different countries, describes the different cultures so that you feel as if you are there and has many near escapes that will keep you turning the pages. In this story, the author gives you intrigue, unexpected plot twists and turns, and such a very real picture that you wonder at times if this is truly fact or is it really just fiction.

Dan Gorden, the main character, is very good at reviewing evidence and finding information that was overlooked by others. When he takes on the Chameleon Case, it had stumped international law enforcement for twenty years. His ability to zoom in on the points that had been missed by others leads him to more information which leads him into some very rough times. Seems he also has a knack for getting himself out of the tight binds he finds himself in - with the help of many friends along the way.

Does he live through his escapades? Does he help to solve the case? Well, you are going to have to read this wonderful page turning book to find out!

This is a fast paced story from start to finish.

It is a globe trotting story although most of it is set in the U.S. and Iran. Dan Gordon is a Justice Department investigator who is looking into financial crimes allegedly perpetrated by the 'Chameleon', a mysterious figure who has stolen millions of dollars while portraying himself as a variety of different people.

Much of the investigation ends up being focused on Iran where Gordon faces enormous barriers in his search for the malefactor. It contains lots of very interesting cultural insights of the nation upended by the 1979 revolution and the enormous changes resulting from that. This part is so interesting that the book would be pretty good even without the thriller elements, although it has plenty of those as well.

I have not read any previous books by Haggai Carmon, but I certainly intend to do so. This is very well done and this writer is one who should get lots more attention.

A tightly woven, intricate espionage thriller. I typically have issues with books written in first person, but Carmon uses it very effectively. This book is a good example of how first person should be done.

Through a cast of interesting and three-dimensional characters, Carmon takes us on a hunt for the Chameleon who has been eluding law officials from many countries. CIA agent, Dan Gordon has been tailing the Chameleon and every time he's gotten close enough to bring the Chameleon in, something gets in his way.

Gordon's not only fighting to work with a variety of world governments without giving himself away, he's also fighting against the bureaucracy of his own government.

A good read!

The Chamelon Conspiracy is another welcome addition to Haggai Carmon's growing list of Dan Gordon adventures. It makes for excellent reading and when reading it I keep seeing Tom Cruise doing the lead role in a Dan Gordon movie...

The plot could not be more appropriate for our times and wnen reading you keep asking yourself on many sub-plots - are they only a figment of the author's imgination or were they real? More than that, bearing in mind when the book was written, there are some uncanny descriptions of scenarios yet to come. See just these two:

p.18-19: "... The promised rate of 14% gave a significantly higher yield than the interest paid by the usual securities... when customers wanted to liquidate their holdings, Ward's company promptly paid the bank, which in turn credited the customer's accounts... The end was inevitable. The bank became insolvent ans was seized by regulators." - Shades of Bernie Madoff!

p.284: " Neyshabur is also the ultrasecret future birthplace of the Iranian nuclear bomb..." " I read someplace that their plant is in Natanz." " Natanz is for the UN inspectors to visit, Neyshabur is the real plant.It is built 500 feet deep into the ground." - Who needs the CIA & the Mossad? Carmon seems to know everything...

So read it and enjoy it.

I was only able to read 120 pages of this book. I felt like I was in the middle of a CNN show with the topic being terrorism & money laundering. I thought this was going to be more of a thriller with some suspense & mystery. I honestly couldn't keep up. The non-stop talk about terrorism & money laundering just wasn't keeping me interested. I can't say that it was a bad book because if this stuff interests you then you'll probably like it. It just wasn't my cup of tea. I love a good mystery & most thrillers but to me, this was neither.

I've discovered that I really enjoy political/government thrillers, thanks to Jack Bauer & 24, as well as Vince Flynn. I definitely was not disappointed with The Chameleon Conspiracy, though let me tell you the story is almost overwhelming!

Haggai Carmon clearly knows his stuff, as the book is filled with so much detail with regards to the government, its agencies, and covert operations. Actually, I think I have a whole new respect for agents who go undercover after reading this book. There are many intense scenes that made me wonder how anyone can successfully assume a new identity--let alone have to do that all the time for their job. Even Dan Gordon commented once about keeping all of his identities straight--he dreaded running into someone he might have met from a previous case because he doubted he would know what name he had given them. To tell you the truth, I couldn't tell you how many different aliases he had in this one book!

If you enjoy thrillers, particularly anything involving terrorism and state relations, then I definitely recommend this book. I will say that at times I got bogged down in all the detail--sometimes the writing was a little too dry or informational to pull me into the story. But overall, I enjoyed it and was glad to have this opportunity to discover a new-to-me author. The Chameleon Conspiracy is the third Dan Gordon Intelligence Thriller, so I have a feeling I'll be checking out the first two, as well.

This book is a taxing read. Every time I put it down, it took all my willpower to pick it up again. It's not that the author didn't put enough care or interest in the writing, but that the author seems unaware that his intended audience doesn't come from a hard core intelligence background. Just because something is accurate doesn't make it interesting.

Dan Gordon, ex-Mossad, now tracks international financial crime for the U.S. Department of Justice. A serial swindler displays uncomfortably close ties to the Middle East, and may have funneled millions into al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. So he calls up his old espionage contacts and dives into Iran briefcase-first.

Haggai Carmon brings massive experience in international law and intelligence to this novel. An introduction by CIA veteran Andre de Gallo asserts that this is one of the most accurate reflections of international intelligence ever written. Sadly, this accuracy is presented as tedious, opaque, and lacking in the human touch.

I have no doubt that most intelligence agents are paperwork mavens who run numbers and never draw a gun. I have no doubt that much international finance is handled by minute attention to detail. But I have plenty of doubt how that work is done, doubt that is not dispelled by this book's long, prolix exposition.

Audiences like action because violence is comprehensible in a way that careful intelligence work is not. But even when Carmon lets that sort of thing into the story, he treats it with apparent distaste. An abduction attempt in Islamabad is treated so cursorily, for instance, that when it's mentioned for the second time, I'd forgotten it had happened.

A writing teacher told me that the truth of a story does not excuse lousy storytelling. Somebody might tell Haggai Carmon this. Every detail of intelligence drudgery doesn't belong between the covers. Dan Gordon appears more interested in numbers than the people they represent. This book is vague, distant, and unlikely to interest most thriller readers.

Dan Gordon makes his third appearance in this novel which combines elements of money laundering, terrorist financing and other assorted national security breaches. Gordon is an unusual protagonist, having a background with the Israeli Mossad as well as being an international lawyer and an employee of the U.S. Department of Justice.

The plot involves Iranian agents and one in particular who Gordon labels The Chameleon, who fraudulently bilks banks of millions of dollars, transferring the proceeds to terrorist activities. The efforts to identify the perpetrators combine the talents of the CIA, FBI and other agencies, both domestic and foreign, and Gordon's travels all over the world including Europe, Australia, Israel and clandestinely to Iran.

Over-all, the inner workings of such investigative efforts are minutely detailed, relying heavily on the author's background as an international attorney and his work for various Federal agencies in intelligence-gathering. The story is imaginative, if not often overwhelming, in scope and detail.

Dan Gordon works for the US Government chasing criminals who have committed crimes such as money laundering and embezzlement. When he gets handed a 20-year old case with no new leads he doesn't realize the whirl wind that this case would take him on. He travels the world searching for the Chameleon, or at least searching for clues to find where this man has hidden.

This book was pretty good. Carmon does a great job keeping you reading. I hated when I had to set this one down. It is suspenseful, to say the least. There are lots of twists and turns, and most all of them are completely unexpected (at least I didn't see them coming). The characters are somewhat two-dimensional, with the exception of Dan Gordon, but the plot more than makes up for a small lack in character development.

Overall I'd say I liked this one. It was well written, and the situations seemed plausible to me. It was an interesting look at how a government agent gathers information and uses that information to track the bad guys. I will defiantly be getting my hands of some of Carmon's other works.

"The Chameleon Conspiracy" is a high-speed thrilling ride around the globe where Dan Gordon of the Justice Department investigates the case of the Chameleon, a baffling figure that has stolen millions of dollars while portraying many people and avoiding capture for twenty years. Gordon finds out the funds are being used for terrorist activities. Haggai Carmon has written an international spy story that is captivating and entertaining.