KBL: Kill Bin Laden

Impressively detailed and imagined, Weisman’s fictional account of the hunt for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden will resonate with armchair patriots. Weisman, the coauthor with Richard Marcinko of 1992’s Rogue Warrior and eight subsequent Rogue Warrior novels, knows the ins and outs of covert operations and high-tech weaponry, all of which come to bear in this fast-paced narrative focused on the last stages of the search for the world’s most wanted man. The novel opens in December 2010 with Charlie Becker, a crippled American veteran, deeply undercover as a beggar on the streets of Abbottabad, Pakistan, looking for signs that bin Laden is nearby. The author convincingly renders what could have happened in the following months—including the intelligence gathering, the military preparation, and the political intrigues—that resulted in bin Laden’s death in May. Fans of vintage Tom Clancy will find a lot to like. Those looking for nuance should seek elsewhere. (One-day laydown Nov. 15)