The Prisoner Of Acre (Ash Carter Near East Crime Thriller Book Four) by Murray Bailey

 

The Prisoner of Acre (Ash Carter Near East Crime Thriller Book Four) by Murray Bailey.

Published 23rd February 2024 by Three Daggers.

From the cover of the book:

Ash Carter returns to Israel on what should be a straightforward mission except for one small detail. Why did Alfred Duffy go AWOL from the British Army, go to Israel and then hand himself in at Acre Prison.

The mystery deepens when Carter finds that Duffy escaped just as he arrived.

The hunt begins but as the mystery unravels towards an exciting climax, it becomes unclear who is the hunter and who the hunted.

***********

1949, Israel. Captain Ash Carter of the SIB is back in the Middle East, hot on the heels of Sergeant Alfred Duffy, who has gone AWOL from his unit in Cyprus. Tensions are running high in the newly created state of Israel, and the British are no more popular than they were when Carter was previously on secondment here to track down the Killing Crew. 

Duffy has mysteriously handed himself in at Acre prison, and Carter anticipates that this will be a simple collection job. However, when he arrives on the ground, he discovers that Duffy has just escaped through the tunnels under the ancient fortress, in the company of an Arab prisoner called Abu Hajjar, the head of a gang who call themselves The Orbit Men.

War rages on every side, and somehow Carter must find a way to get to the bottom of what connection an AWOL soldier could possibly have with organised crime in this troubled region, and work out how to capture him before they both get themselves killed.

I am a huge fan of Murray Bailey's books, and his Ash Carter thrillers are some of my favourites - both those set in Carter's 1950s PI days in Singapore, and in this prequel series following his adventures as a Military Police investigator in the Near East. So, it was joy to be back with Carter as he has a brand new conundrum to solve, tracking down an AWOL soldier amidst the political and military hot-bed surrounding the newly formed Israeli state.

Without preamble, this book goes straight for the jugular. As soon as Carter arrives he is thrown into a relentless cat and mouse chase to locate his man, and attempt to stay alive long enough to get the job done. The trail of breadcrumbs begins at Acre prison, and it takes Carter on a twisty route across the region, which gives you an insightful view of the strained relationships between the powers fighting over the disputed territories he must travel through - which is always something Bailey does incredibly well. 

Threaded through this authentic historical perspective, Bailey conjures a cracking thriller full of action, adventure, and nerve-jangling tension, which has a very enjoyable James-Bond-by-way-of-Indiana-Jones element that keeps you perched on the edge of your seat. Carter's habit of making friends and enemies along the way is central to this story, even if you are not always sure who is who, and his particular brand of justice embroils him in a situation that leads to an exciting climax among the ancient ruins (possibly the best multi-shoot out Bailey setting since Singapore Killer too). Of course it would not be a Bailey book if there were not a few intriguing females, and here he throws in a typical femme fatale to stir Carter's passions - and a very interesting character in the form of Lieutenant Eva Weiss to engineer some lovely twists and turns, up the emotional ante, and touch on the role of women in the military as well. Superb!

I raced through this gem, completely caught up in the well constructed plot and the clever mix of characters from all sides of the modern historical equation. This one seems particularly timely too, given recent events in the real world. It can be read as a stand-alone of you are new to Captain Ash Carter's adventures, but is so much better if you are familiar with the other books in the Near East series. I highly recommend a read of the Ash Carter Singapore books too while you are at it - and if you can, throw in the BlackJack series once you have completed them, for a slice of morally grey leading man caught between the Devil and the deep blue sea. You can thank me later...

The Prisoner of Acre is available to buy now in paperback and ebook.

Thank you to Murray Bailey for sending me an ecopy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Murray Bailey Is the author of Amazon bestseller Map of the Dead, the first of the series based on his interest in Egyptology. His main series however is the Ash Carter thrillers, inspired by his father's experience in the Royal Military Police in Singapore in the early 1950s.

Murray is well traveled, having worked in the US, South America and a number of European countries throughout his career as a management consultant. However he also managed to find the time to edit books, contribute to articles and act as a part-time magazine editor.

Murray lives on the south coast of England with his family and a dog called Teddy.