4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A MUST READ FOR EVERYONE INTERESTED IN WHAT IS HAPPENING IN IRAN TODAY, June 18, 2009
I concur with all that the previous reviewer has written so I only wish to elaborate on one point. What we are seeing, hearing and reading about in Iran in June, 2009 and why it is important that the U.S. is not seen to be meddling in their election is all excitingly and suspensefully portrayed in The Tehran Conviction. All one needs to know about Operation Ajax led by Kermit Roosevelt and it's sequence of unintended consequences for ensuing generations is laid out in this most topical and entertaining political thriller. You will not be disappointed.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Teller Scores Again, August 10, 2010
Author Tom Gabbay pens another winner in this third Jack Teller novel. This time the year is 1979 when Teller is approached by an old Iranian acquaintance Zahra Fatemi. Her brother, Yari, has been imprisoned and Zahra implores Teller to use his CIA connections to try to get him freed. Teller's relationship with Yari goes back to 1953 when, as a new CIA recruit, he befriended Yari as part of a subversive CIA attempt to overthrow Iranian prime minister Mohammad Mossadegh. Reluctantly, Teller goes back to Iran where he becomes embroiled in Ayatollah Khomeini's Iranian hostage crisis. As Teller works on Yari's release he recounts the events of 1953.
Gabbay reveals a darker side of the CIA as the agency details its strategy to overthrow the government of a sovereign nation. Sadly, that portion of the book is not fiction. However, that also underscored how that event became the genesis of the United States becoming the Great Satan and ultimately contributing to future events like the hostage crisis.
"The Tehran Conviction" is another enthralling thriller which should not be missed.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome spy suspense, March 30, 2010
This review is from: The Tehran Conviction (Mass Market Paperback)
In 1953, Jack Teller goes to Tehran as a new recruit to the newly organized CIA. Under the cover of an influential oil executive, Jack Teller's mission includes making contacts to serve the CIA's goal of influence on the Iranian government during the height of the Cold War. Jack makes contact with Yari Fatemi and his sister Zahra. Yari Fatemi has high hopes that Prime Monister Mohammed Mossadegh is a great man, a man able to bring to Iran a sense of independence from colonialism to creating a society that will honor the rich history of the country and bring human rights to its people. The CIA's mission to overthrow Mossadegh, however, puts Jack at odds with the friendship the two men share. Twenty-six years later, Iran stands on the brink of a religious revolution. Zahra approaches Jack, begging him to help her brother. In an unofficial mission, much like those of MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, in which if discovered, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of the mission, Jack enters a new Iran where the chaos of revolution in a bold, daring attempt to save the very man he betrayed years earlier.
Tom Gabbay's THE TEHRAN CONVICTION is an exceptional historical spy thriller! Tom Gabbay reaches into CIA history to create a thriller that sheds light not only on past events but also one that gives an excellent chilling background to recent events. Tom Gabbay places his fictional characters within real historic events and surrounds them with real historical figures. Tom Gabbay also does an excellent job at balancing the particulars of Iranian history with the overarching background of the Cold War. THE TEHRAN CONVICTION is fast-paced spy fiction that alternates between the two main time periods.
As spy fiction, THE TEHRAN CONVICTION brings the reader right into the heart of the story through the characters of Jack Teller and Yari Fatemi. Yari is young, optimistic and idealistic. Jack Teller is a man loyal to the mission but one who also questions those around him. Despite his loyalty to his country and the CIA's mission, he sees the dangers if not ridiculousness of some of CIA's aims. Donaldson, a character Jack meets later in the book, is a perfect complement to Jack, each bringing out the depth in each other. The later daring mission keeps a reader on pins and needles with several turns and twists. Tom Gabbay writes outstanding spy fiction with all the ingredients to keep a reader locked in until the last page. Fast, dangerous, bold action joins with a more thoughtful insight into politics and indeed human nature itself through the richness of character depth. Tom Gabbay's twists on idealism and realism are exquisite! THE TEHRAN CONVICTION is a perfect dance between subversion and betrayal, leaving a reader on edge, never quite expecting the clever twists around the next corner. What an ending --- it leaves a reader thinking with just the slightest chill to send shivers throughout!
It's been a very long time since I have read spy fiction so thoroughly satisfying or as awesome as Tom Gabbay's THE TEHRAN CONVICTION. If like this reader, you tend to avoid recent spy novels set in the Mideast having found so much television and recent thrillers too realistic or not realistic enough, shallow and one-dimensional, a reader need not have such qualms about Tom Gabbay's THE TEHRAN CONVICTION. I received this book as a gift so I tried it. Am I ever glad I did! The night I finished it, I immediately ordered the author's two previous books. If you love rich spy suspense, Tom Gabbay is a must read. Outstanding!
Courtesy of Book Illuminations
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