Saturday, March 2, 2013

The Twelfth Imam by Joel C. Rosenberg

Someone posted on Facebook a few days ago, "The Twelfth Imam is free on Kindle today." So, I clicked over, took a look, and "bought it." I had no idea what I was getting into. As it turns out, this book is the first installment in a trilogy of political thrillers about Iran's race for nuclear weapons and how that dovetails with end-times prophecy. Once I started reading, I was hooked.

David Shirazi is a CIA agent posing as a telecommunications expert selling the services of a German company to the government of Iran. He speaks Farsi because his parents are Persians who escaped Iran during 1979 American embassy hostage crisis. They raised their three children in the U. S. and kept in contact with the couple who helped them get out of Iran. David is enamored of their daughter, but they live too far apart to make a go of it.

Now, David is embroiled in the race to stop Iran from getting nukes. At the same time, the long-awaited "messiah" of the Muslim faith, the twelfth imam, appears to have finally come. The imam encourages the destruction of Israel and the USA to celebrate his arrival. Meanwhile, David earns the trust of the powers that be in Iran and helps to bug their communications. The story ends rather abruptly, probably to pique your interest about what happens in the next book.

Author Rosenberg weaves a compelling tale, including a turning point in the story centering around 9/11. David and his love interest seem to have hopes for a reunion, but he's entangled in his mission. The book ends with Iran setting off an underground nuclear test, which is first mistaken for an earthquake. What will happen to David, his love life, his compatriots in the CIA, Israel, the world?

I think Amazon's marketing strategy for the trilogy worked on me. The theory is, once you read the first one for free, you'll break down and buy the others. I'm waiting to see if I can get the second one, The Tehran Initiative, at my public library. The third, Damascus Countdown, releases March 5, 2013. Learn more about the author on his website.


Image from http://www.joelrosenberg.com/books-dvd/.

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