A post-9/11 thriller is a tough arena in which to come up with an original spy tale. Dan Fesperman has not only done that with THE AMATEUR SPY, but has delivered some truly great thrills along the way.

Freeman Lockhart and his wife are settling into retirement on a Greek isle. A former U.N. aid worker, Freeman has had enough of the life and figures it’s best to finally enjoy the fruits of his tireless labor. As soon as they begin their new life, the Lockharts are met by three mysterious men who refer to themselves as Black, White and Gray. They have a proposition for Freeman, with “no” not being an option.

This trio has some information about Freeman’s past that he would be like to be kept secret from his wife, dealing with the time he worked in Africa. The job in question is to spy on an old friend of his: Omar, from his days in the Middle East. Not wanting to become a spy on someone he has not seen in years or even leave his new wife, Freeman is pretty much forced into this line of work, and heads into the belly of the beast of conflict in Jordan.

Once he arrives, the only information he is given is to follow and trail Omar in his dealings – no matter where it might take them – and never to act on anything, only pass along the information through a laptop that he will be given. From all accounts, it looks like Omar is just doing charitable work, plain and simple – nothing nefarious – except when he takes an unexpected trip to Athens. Only then does Freeman start to worry.

In the meantime, a subplot deals with a Middle Eastern couple who became American citizens years ago; the husband was one of the doctors who saved Ronald Reagan’s life after the assassination attempt, and they are still dealing with the loss of their daughter, who died tragically in London due to bureaucracy of the embassy because of her family’s background.

The father becomes so disillusioned that he seems bent on making a very drastic statement, while his wife becomes aware she will play along with the idea of stopping him, to the point that she is sent to Jordan herself for training. The book follows Freeman as he nervously tries his hand at spying, not even realizing he is being watched himself.

Fesperman weaves the stories so well that when the two plots meet, we see the action from both sides, each with their own ideas of what is going on: that Omar might just be wholly on the up and up, and the people he is working for might not be the group he believes they are. THE AMATEUR SPY is a total page-turner that will probably divide a few readers with its subject matter, but you can’t play favorites in this type of novel; sometimes the good guys are not who they seem. It all builds to a truly satisfying ending that should place this book on most year-end best-of-thrillers lists. –Bruce Grossman

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