PURSUED: The Emir of Al-Shabaab

 Jack Kassinger weaves a tale that takes you through the halls of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and their processes, into the workings of the President, and gives you a glimpse of the intricacies of diplomacy when lethal action may result. In this roman à clef novel, the author draws on his experience with the CIA to describe in fictional fashion how the United States government managed to track down and kill one of Africa's most notorious terrorists. 

CIA Agent Mike Shocklee is handpicked by his superior, Scott Sandowski, the director of clandestine operations, to lead a team into Africa on a mission to execute the leader of the al-Shabaab terrorist group. Shocklee goes undercover as a lieutenant in the Kenyan military to take out Mukhtar Abu Zubaya... ...and Zubaya has plans to use chemical weapons against the West. Mike chooses Agent Rick Walker to assist him with the technical aspects of the mission. Although Walker is reluctant to accompany Shocklee because both men had only recently recovered from serious injuries acquired during their last mission, he eventually agrees to tag along. They travel to Nairobi, Kenya, the launching point for the operation. 

After Shocklee is embedded with the Kenyan military, he heads an invasion of one of Zubaya's compounds. Two of Zubaya's men are captured and taken to the temporary base that Walker is in charge of. The first prisoner, Abidi Malik Zakur, a devoted follower of the al-Shabaab, dies in custody. The second prisoner, Ibrahim Hallam, a reluctant member of the group, cooperates during Walker's interrogations and agrees to help the Americans find Zubaya on the condition that the CIA rescue his wife and daughters from a compound where Zubaya is holding them. The American military frees Ibrahim's family, and the detainee agrees to go back into the fold of al-Shabaab as a spy... ...after learning that Zubaya plans to marry his oldest daughter, Naomi. While Ibrahim monitors the movement of men in and out of the compound belonging to Abu Abdallah, a senior al-Shabaab leader, Mohamoud-Zubaya's right-hand man, conspires with the Eritrean ambassador to purchase chemical weapons from Iran. When Sandowski's boss gives the military an unexpected command to take out Zubaya... ...Shocklee's mission comes to a violent and deadly end. 

“Powerful, and laced with a steady beat of suspense, Kassinger does it again with this spectacular work of international intrigue.” said Kathie McGuire, director of Brighton Publishing LLC.

Love this author's books -- I've read three of them. By the end of the third, I was wishing that they were either longer or that there were others for me to dive into. Very satisfying read. - Robert Tobin

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