The Damascus Threat: An ICE Thriller

As Amy Weston, a doctor specializing in chemical weapons just back from Syria, rushes to Dominic Verrazzano’s office with a warning, she is attacked in the elevator. Verrazanno is a Special Agent in the ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) department. Amy is able to provide a few words before she dies, but trying to interpret them will take some time. Time is something ICE doesn’t have much left. Verrazzano is able to find her killer who, after saying “I got the four-ten,” jumps to his death from a high buiding.
ICE is able to determine that there is a major chemical attack planned but they don’t have other details. Clues lead him to Syria where he is determined to learn who is behind the plot, where the chemical (the show more extremely deadly sarin gas) is being stored, what the target is, and when the attack is to take place.
As he dashes through Syria, people he meets keep getting murdered and he is beaten up regularly. Life in Syria is tenuous. After he spares the life of one man, the man tells him, “If you ever need anything...I’ll try to do it. Really, if I can, I’ll try.” “ In the Middle east a highly qualified promise was all you could expect for a life spared.” He isn’t able to really trust anyone, but he does learn the attack will be taking place in New York City.
THE DAMASCUS THREAT is action-packed and Matt Rees does know how to tell a good story. I found it hard to differentiate between the characters. Unfortunately, he weaves several threads simultaneously resulting in very short chapters and had some confusion trying to remember who was who. The story is very violent and the way Verrazanno is able to keep going instead of being in an intensive care unit pushes belief. It’s a stretch of the imagination to believe that he can stop two trained thugs who are trying to kill him. At another point, after almost dying in a brutal attack and being severely injured, he is still able to carry another injured man in a fireman’s lift and race with him to a departing airplane.
Trust plays a big part in the story. Rees notes: “Only the worst Americans were able to disguise the shame that came over them when they told an untruth. Most Americans grew up expecting honesty from others and consequently were guilt-ridden they engaged in deception. In less prosperous nations, the assumption was that everyone lied and the only way to avoid being taken for a sucker was to lie as well. The vocal cords of a dishonest American tightened with remorse, and the increase in pitch was like a shrieking klaxon to Verrazzaona’s ear.”
The man who recruits people to carry out his nefarious plans has no trouble lying. He picks his targets carefully–mostly US military veterans who have not received the services they need to return to normal lives. He tells one, “We’re not going to hurt anybody. We’re not going to steal....We’re taking back our dignity.”
At one point, he goes to a house which just suffered a huge fire caused by an arsonist pouting gasoline throughout. The explosion blew out the windows and the firs blackened the furniture, floor, and walls. As soon as the fire is extinguished, he enters the house and is able to walk up the stairs to the upper floor.
Rees has great command of his words. Examples: “The toughness leeched out of Browne’s eyes and grief replaced it. This wasn’t a real hard man. No one could keep up that act. It was like being bullied by yourself.” “His voice was so deep that it seemed to creep across the floor and vibrate up from Verrazzano’s feet through his entire body.”
Food for thought: “The thing about the past is it’s all ahead of you.’
I have been a huge fan of Matt Reese since I read his earliest book, a nonfiction called CAIN’S FIELD and have enjoyed all his Omar Yussaf mysteries as well as his books on Mozart and Caravaggio. I didn’t like THE DAMASCUS THREAT because of all the violence and unrealistic, superhuman survival abilities of Varrazzano and don’t plan to read any more in this series. However, I rated it according to how I think people who appreciate this genre would. show less

Die Ärztin Amy Weston hat einen Termin mit dem Agenten Dominic Verrazzano vom ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), denn sie muss ihm etwas sehr Wichtiges mitteilen. Auf dem Weg dorthin wird sie verfolgt und im Aufzug tödlich verletzt. Sie kann Verrazzano nur noch einen Zettel in die Hand drücken und einen kryptischen Hinweis geben. Es gelingt dem Agenten zwar, den Mörder zu stellen, aber auch der gibt nur wenige unverständliche Worte von sich, bevor er sich in den Tod stürzt. Aber Verrazzano und seine Kollegen sind Profis und schon bald habe sie eine Ahnung, worum es geht. Alles deutet auf einen Giftgasanschlag mit Sarin hin. Doch wo soll der Anschlag stattfinden?
Von Anfang an geht es dramatisch zu in diesem Thriller. show more Zunächst ist es aber nicht ganz einfach die vielen Personen in den unterschiedlichen Erzählsträngen auseinander zu halten.
Dr. Weston hat sich auf die Behandlung von Opfern chemischer Kampfstoffe spezialisiert. So erfuhr sie, dass jemand in den Besitz von Sarin gekommen ist, der einen Anschlag plant. Der Zettel, den sie Verrazzano in die Hand drückte, enthielt Koordinaten, die auf einen Punkt mitten in Damaskus hinweisen. Verrazzano muss also wieder nach Syrien zurück, von wo er vor geraumer Zeit fluchtartig verschwunden ist. Er wollte bestimmten Leuten nie wieder begegnen und wollte auch nicht an das erinnert werden, was damals geschah. Aber er muss seinen Job machen und verhindern, dass Schlimmes geschieht. Das ist es auch für den geschulten Agenten lebensgefährlich, denn der Gegner scheint immer ein Schritt voraus zu sein und geht sehr rücksichtslos vor. Dabei nutzt man auch die Veteranen aus, die verletzt und leidend alleine gelassen werden.
Wir wissen alle, welche ein Pulverfass der Nahe Osten ist und dass dort mit allen Mitteln gekämpft wird – auch mit solchen, die geächtet sind. Was die Gefahr erhöht ist, dass US-Regierungsorganisationen sich aus manchen Bereichen zurückgezogen haben und privaten Firmen das Feld überlassen haben. Damit geht die Kontrolle verloren, wer für was und gegen wen mit welchen Mitteln kämpft. Ein guter Boden für die, die mit Waffenhandel Geschäfte machen wollen. Die Gefahr ist groß und tödlich.
Es ist ein Wettlauf mit der Zeit. Auch wenn man erahnen kann, wie es endet, so gibt es doch unverhoffte Wendungen, die die Spannung vom Anfang bis zum Ende hochhalten.
Ein actionreicher und spannender Thriller mit Realitätsbezug. show less