Bestseller Ignatius (Body of Lies
) explores America’s escalating cold war with Iran in a thriller sure to draw comparisons to le Carré’s The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
. When Harry Pappas, the new CIA chief of the Iran Operations Division, receives an unsolicited e-mail from an alleged Tehran scientist who calls himself “Dr. Ali” that implies Iran has in fact continued with its nuclear weapons program and is “an imminent threat to global peace,” he shares the information with his superiors only to find an administration bent on warmongering. Having vowed never again to play a role in a senseless conflict that could potentially kill thousands of innocents, Pappas, whose only son was killed while serving in the second Iraq War, must somehow identify Dr. Ali, get him out of Iran and mine his knowledge before the U.S. blunders into another unnecessary war. While the realistic story lines build to a somewhat predictable ending, this remains a page-turner of the highest order. (May)
