When BBC television correspondent Jackson Dunbar gets a much-desired posting to the Arab world, his fame and status seem destined to grow. But he has a weakness that is exploited by Western intelligence and it threatens to wreck his career. Some friends from his almost-forgotten past re-enter his life with unexpected and powerful moral challenges. Author Ian D. Richardson, a former radio and television editor, uses his inside knowledge to take readers on a fast and furious adventure with some shocking and unforeseen twists and turns.
Industry Reviews
Fast-paced and absorbing, this novel written in the present tense by a former BBC journalist who really knows his stuff, draws the reader in to the terrifying world of terrorism in today's world from the perspective of a BBC news team on the spot in an Arab capital under attack. The sometimes horrific twists and turns kept me involved right to the end. Hard to put down! It would make a great film. - Amazon review by musiga24, UK "A pacy and plausible thriller. It took me a while to get used to the present tense approach but I soon became absorbed in the plot. A real page turner. I could "see" the characters. It would work well as a movie. - David McNeil, Amazon review. "Very enjoyable. A ripping yarn and I was really surprised by the ending. I also gained a deep understanding of what it was like for a reporter working overseas." - J. A. Stephens, London UK. "The Mortal Maze was part of my holiday reading - and a very good part it was! I particularly enjoyed the frictions and conflicts between the resident members of the BBC's news bureau team and the special correspondent followed by the relief manager who were flown in to work at the bureau. I also very much enjoyed the way the relationships between the members of the bureau team itself were portrayed. As well as these, I found Ian Richardson's storylines were most compelling... though some were more than a little sad." - Amazon review by Peter Udell, London. "A labyrinthine tale with a blinder of an ending. Heart stopping stuff. I am glad you didn't tell me how it ended before I began reviewing it." - Jan Woolf, editor, London. "Fabulous - especially after the first chapter, when I found it impossible to put down. I continued reading well into the night, always thinking to ' bookmark at the next page', but no, I read it to the end! A fascinating novel with an unusual and interesting series of plots that could only be authored by someone with a deep journalistic experience of the subject matter." - John Mole, North Ringwood, Melbourne. "The story line had me hooked in the first chapter and then I didn't want to put it down until I had finished the book. A very informative read albeit rather sad on several fronts." - Mrs C. A. Hall, Amazon review UK "The hero -- a dishevelled BBC TV correspondent with a gambling habit -- finds himself getting drawn into the murky territory between journalism and espionage when an old school friend turned terrorist and old college friend turned diplomat both turn up in the fictional Arabian country where he is posted. Moral dilemmas and lots of violent action-- just the thing for holiday reading. - Amazon review by Elizabeth Blunt, London. "Excellent thriller: rattling good yarn. Works on several levels; critique of hypocritical foreign policy, skewering of BBC bureaucracy, portrait of Middle Eastern country, deft characterisation." - Amazon review by Stephen Jessel, Paris.