Review of Those in the Shadows - Hostages out of the East

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Joyjim
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Review of Those in the Shadows - Hostages out of the East

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[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Those in the Shadows - Hostages out of the East" by Charles Janoe.]
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2 out of 4 stars
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Working as an undercover agent has its perks and downside. The sly activities of politicians often conflict with the clear goals of security operatives. Those in the Shadows - Hostages out of the East by Charles Janoe is a story birthed by the author's experiences while in military service for over twenty years.

The story opens with George Grizo at his desk in the basement of the U.S. embassy in Istanbul, Turkey. George is an intelligence officer for the embassy. The U.S. ambassador works closely with him to gather top-secret information and execute vital missions. Halfway into the book, George got sent on a mission to transmit sensitive information connected to Iran and terrorist activities to Washington. However, many Iranian agents are on his heels and are closely watching him. Will the US agents succeed in providing adequate protection for him? Will George succeed in his numerous missions? Will those being held hostage ever gain their freedom? These mysteries find their revelations as the story unfolds.

The narrative is highly descriptive and suspenseful. A great portion of the story focuses on George and his undercover activities. Oftentimes, I held my breath as he came close to being caught by his pursuers. It was interesting to read about how alert and observant he is. Even when one of his pursuers changed her hair from red to black on page 28, he did not fail to identify her.

I love the realistic depiction of rank awareness and the relationships between law enforcement officers in the story. On page 33, George was addressed with these words, " “Sorry sir. I made a mistake. If you will follow me, sir.” He turns as he says, “I will show you where to go to get your documentation for your assignment.”

The development of characters was properly done. The personalities of Ambrosia and George were consistent throughout the story and were properly developed. Also, the conclusion of the story was quite satisfactory.

Although the descriptions in the narrative made the scenes come alive, they were excessive. Descriptions are most effective when limited to important events in the story. However, in this book, they were used indiscriminately. This distracted me a great deal and impacted my enjoyment of the story. This is my most disliked aspect of the book.

Furthermore, there were numerous typographical and grammatical errors in the text. For these reasons, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. It was not professionally edited. Although the storyline has a great potential to be a bestseller, there is more work to be done on it. Readers who love detective stories and stories centered on taking down terrorist organizations may find the story appealing.

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Those in the Shadows - Hostages out of the East
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