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Lädt ... Layover in Dubaivon Dan Fesperman
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Melde dich bei LibraryThing an um herauszufinden, ob du dieses Buch mögen würdest. Keine aktuelle Diskussion zu diesem Buch. This story is set in Dubai, a land of huge wealth and a real estate bubble about to burst. It shows corruption and collusion between large corporations, the global mafia and officials on the take. The story itself is a pretty humdrum thriller. The setting is fascinating. I have to assume that the kinds of activities described actually occur. "Layover in Dubai" took me to a place I've never been - the Persian Gulf Emirate of Dubai, with its ostentatious building programs, conspicuous consumption, and private flouting of Sharia; the exploitation of foreign workers building the new Dubai; its poverty, strivers, and corruption; the conflict between citified Emeraties and Bedouins; the miles and miles of miles and miles. The protagonists are an honest (more or less) police inspector and an American accountant for an multinational American pharmaceutical company who get caught up in a Russian-operated, American-backed white slavery ring. but, this is really the story of two women. Nanette Weaver, security chief for the pharmaceutical firm, dealing with and reacting to the limitations on women in a man's business world; and Laleh, the daughter of an Emerati police inspector, an independent young entrepreneur, chafing against the restrictions placed upon her not only by her protective father but also a conservative society's view of a woman's role. I'd read and enjoyed author Dan Fesperman's "The Arms Maker of Berlin," and this novel as well. Time to dig into more of his backlist. A fun caper in which an innocent and rather risk-resistant auditor is told to babysit an errant pharmaceutical employee in the boom town of Dubai. When the employee is murdered, he's caught up in a shadowy conspiracy, with only a local policeman (and his daughter) on his side. Fesperman does a good job creating characters you care about in a fascinating setting. keine Rezensionen | Rezension hinzufügen
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Sam Keller has been enlisted by his V.P. for Corporate Security and Investigation to spy on another employee while they're traveling for the company. Ordinarily careful to a fault, Sam decides to live it up. What better spot for business-class hedonism than boomtown Dubai, where resort islands materialize from open ocean, fortunes are made overnight, and skiers crisscross the snowy slope of a shopping mall.But when Sam's charge is murdered during a night on the town, it is only the first in a series of bewildering events that plunge him waist-deep into a lethal mix of mobsters, prostitutes, crooked cops, consuls, and corporate players. Offering a chancy way out is Anwar Sharaf, the unlikeliest of detectives. A former pearl diver and gold smuggler with an undignified demeanor, Sharaf is sometimes as baffled as Sam by the changes to his homeland, especially as they are embodied in the behavior of his rebelliously independent -- and hauntingly beautiful -- daughter. But he knows where the levers of power reside. As the unlikely duo work their way toward the heart of the case, each man must confront the darkest forces threatening Dubai from within.Here is Dan Fesperman's most suspenseful novel yet: a stunning portrait of a city whose mysterious rhythm ("like the precision throb of an artificial heart, clicking and insistent, yet cool to the touch") is underscored by the insistent clashing of old and new. Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999Klassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
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There is plenty of local flavor in LD; it’s clear the author speaks from personal experiences and observations. There is a lot about the incredible wealth, the towering office buildings, the extravagant malls. But there is also a good deal about local customs, and not only women’s rights in public, but at home as well. Dan also touches on the very stunning demographics of the Dubai residents, including the native birth of clusters of its police force. And the incredible wealth, and the incredible cars, speeds, crashes, jams. And then there’s the seamier side as well, human trafficking for example., a key plot point of LD.
Our hero, Sam Keller, is a bit of a rising star at his NYC-based pharmaceutical corporation. He is tasked with accompanying one of the company’s more senior reps on a trip to the Middle East, in large part to keep the gentleman from misbehaving; it is to be a quick trip, a layover of sorts. But Sam is in Dubai for only hours before being pursued by police Lt. Assad for the murder of his companion. Sam is rescued, temporarily by Sharaf, another police officer and opponent of Assad. Sharaf puts Sam up at his home for one night where Sam gets a taste of Dubai home life, but not of Sharaf’s stunningly attractive and capable 25 year old daughter. And he crosses paths with Mama, Amina.
The story is well written, fast-paced, well plotted, and has interesting characters; it gave me everything in the way of local color that I was hoping for. It includes a fight to the death atop a tower under construction on the edge of an elevator shaft. And a very good climax and good ending. I will read more of Dan’s works, and will get “The Letter Writer” in the near future, and likely “Safe Houses” and “The Arms Maker of Berlin” afterwords. ( )