Aim True, My Brother by William F. Brown

By Daena

A contemporary, political action thriller, as Middle East terrorism explodes on American shores.  Ibrahim Al-Bari is a skilled Hamas commander who has battled Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan.  After losing two brothers in a bloody attack on a civilian bus in Israel, Al-Bari takes his private war to the heart of America itself.  Nothing as simple as a sniper in a book depository window; when Al-Bari strikes, he will unleash a firestorm that will take out the President, other international leaders, and half the government, national television.  It falls to Eddie Rankin, a maverick FBI agent, who has never met a rule he couldn't break; Moustapha Khalidi, Chief of Security at the Egyptian Embassy, and Rachel Ullman, a hard-edged, Mossad agent and killer, to stop him. Can this dysfunctional alliance hold together long enough to catch Al-Bari before they kill each other - and the clock is ticking.  (taken from Amazon description)

Ibrahim Al-Bari is a Palestinian whom has seen enough of the destruction the United STates has caused in the Middle East and is ready to put an end to it.  After his own failed terrorist attack on his homeland, he comes to the United States to attack at the heart of the problem.  The FBI learns of his arrival into the United States and races to figure out what his next move may be, where he may be, and just exactly what he is planning.  They  must find out before his plan is carried out and hundreds of lives are lost.

The author, William F. Brown, has brilliantly written this novel.  Giving his reader a peek into the mind of a terrorist as well as the FBI agent trying to track him down offered a unique emotional journey for me.  The reason for Ibrahim's actions as a terrorist are explained so wonderfully and with such emotion, I found myself actually hoping for a victory for him for a period of the novel.  It was only as his plan to kill hundreds of people was about to be executed that I realized I was rooting for the terrorist.  The author then switches to writing, mainly, from the point of view of the FBI agents.  I instantly felt anxious and was urgently reading the pages, panicking at the thought of the agents not putting the pieces together in time and being able to stop him.  I wished I was able to tell them where he was and was desperate for the agents to find Ibrahim.

The author definitely takes the reader on a thrill ride in this action packed novel.  This is a magnificently written book.  I do not necessarily consider myself a fan of political action thrillers; however, this book gripped my attention and imagination from the very first page.  I was immersed in the story from beginning to end.  I could not put it down and found myself sneaking in a few pages when I woke up in the middle of the night.  Excellent work by William F. Brown.  One of the best books I've read.