Review of The Date Farm

[jeanmtdb]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Date Farm" by Jack Winnick.]

[rwc=id391515-1254 out of 4 stars.[/rwc]
What do an Israeli Mossad agent and a US FBI agent have in common? They’re married and they team up to fight terrorism. The Date Farm by Jack Winnick is an international espionage thriller that could easily be nonfiction. Jack Winnick’s extensive educational background and knowledge of Middle Eastern culture and politics make his books frighteningly believable. Uri Levin, Israeli Mossad agent, and Lara Edmond, FBI agent, are the unsung heroes that take on dangerous missions to keep us safe from terrorism. Just as there are many evil-minded people who seek to destroy our country, Uri and Lara represent the many brave people who accept the job of stopping them.

There is an attack by Iranian terrorists at a mall in Beverly Hills killing and wounding more than 150 people. The Federal Reserve and the Chase Manhattan Bank are taken over by the same extremist group. Military and government communications are compromised. What is the purpose of these seemingly unrelated attacks? Uri and Lara are pulled away from their vacation to investigate these events. They each head up a team to retake the Federal Reserve and the Chase Manhattan Bank. They are both captured separately but find a way to escape. They discover that the terrorists are after rhenium, an element more precious than gold that can give military superiority to Iran. The intrepid agents go undercover to recover the precious metal and to stop this group of terrorists and their spies once and for all. Can they root out the Islamic extremists hiding in our government?

Mr. Winnick writes this story in the third person making an easy transition from the “good guys” to the “bad guys” without confusion. References to events and characters in earlier novels provide enough information for the reader to grasp the connections. The main characters are real people, not Hollywood heroes; they have apprehensions and fears. The book begins with an unspeakably brutal event. The fast-paced action continues with only a few instances of slower activity giving the reader a chance to breathe. The complex plot makes the story enjoyable and unpredictable. I enjoyed this novel immensely.

The only thing I dislike about this book is how true to life it can be. Most people are good and honest, but some are not. Education is available to all people and diversity is encouraged. This allows terrorists and foreign agents to infiltrate all areas of government and business. This book shows us that the United States is vulnerable and that’s a frightening revelation.

I happily rate this thriller 4 out of 4 stars. This is the fourth in the Uri and Lara series but can be read as a stand-alone book without any confusion. The heart-pounding action makes this novel hard to put down. Fans of espionage thrillers won’t find much to dislike about this book. I would recommend The Date Farm to readers 18+ years of age due to the violence and the incidence of terrorism on United States soil. Persons who are offended by Iranian Muslim radicals as the antagonists and those who are sensitive to extreme violence will not care for this book. I for one enjoy all the works written by Jack Winnick.

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The Date Farm
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[GPM]

This is an exciting, non-stop action international espionage thriller that has you turning the pages to see what agents Lara and Uri do next.