To read the lengthy legal note at the beginning of The Secret Soldier is to put yourself in a room of very worried lawyers. But it's worth pausing at this page - and it does occupy a full page - as it is the first clue that the author, a former New York Times reporter, aims to blend fact and fiction in a rather convincing way.
In short, this novel imagines King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia hiring a violence-prone CIA agent named John Wells, appearing for the fourth time in Berenson's fiction, to help him quell an insurrection within the House of Saud. But this is no anti-Muslim screed: Berenson cleverly makes Wells a convert to Islam and carefully allocates good and bad behaviour among East and West, Christian and Muslim.
Gulf residents will spot many familiar landmarks, but Berenson is less interested in using verisimilitude to be provocative than simply using the Middle East as the setting for a satisfying espionage thriller - that is to say, a fast-moving tale about a dangerous world and a few hard men who will stop at nothing to keep it safe.
SCORES
Yorkshire Vikings 144-1 in 12.5 overs
(Tom Kohler 72 not out, Harry Broook 42 not out)
bt Hobart Hurricanes 140-7 in 20 overs
(Caleb Jewell 38, Sean Willis 35, Karl Carver 2-29, Josh Shaw 2-39)
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
RACE SCHEDULE
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday, September 29
First practice: 7am - 8.30am
Second practice: 11am - 12.30pm
Saturday, September 30
Qualifying: 1pm - 2pm
Sunday, October 1
Race: 11am - 1pm
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Sanchez's club career
2005-2006: Cobreloa
2006-2011 Udinese
2006-2007 Colo-Colo (on loan)
2007-2008 River Plate (on loan)
2011-2014 Barcelona
2014–Present Arsenal
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
The%20Boy%20and%20the%20Heron
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