Doha 12 [Kindle Edition]

DOHA 12 is a suspenseful action thriller set in the world of terrorism and anti-terrorism where Mossad and Hezbollah go head to head. The title refers to 12 people whose identities were used to cover for a Mossad hit team that assassinated a Hezbollah commander in Doha, Qatar. Hezbollah is taking its revenge by assassinating each of the "innocent" DOHA 12. The two main characters are Jacob Eldar, a former Mossad agent who now manages a Brooklyn bookstore, and Miriam Schaffer, a Philadelphia legal secretary.

The numerous action set pieces are almost unbearably suspenseful. The initial attempt on the lead character Jacob Eldar, the confrontation in the train station, and the struggle at the Temple, all are handled with enough edge-of-the seat suspense for a typical thriller. Yet, there are even more action sequences to come in this novel.

Mr. Charnes is an evocative writer who knows his territory. His clever phrasing creates vivid descriptions and emotions. The characters are well drawn and realistic, and I never doubted the believability of the action. As I said, he knows his stuff.

The only drawback, the reason I don't go "five-star," is the slow start. I'm not talking about the opening. The set-up is fascinating when Jacob Eldar is visited in his bookstore by FBI agents. The hint of terrible things to come is tactile. But then things bog down a bit. All the operatives, both Hezbollah and Mossad, get introduced. Members of the DOHA 12 start getting picked off one by one. It's an action thriller, yet I don't care about these people being assassinated. I'm waiting for the threat to get closer to the main character. I'm almost ashamed to say that I almost gave up on the novel after the first 15 or so chapters.

Ashamed, because I would have missed out on a dazzling thriller. This is only Mr. Charnes' first novel, so I'm sure there will be plenty more excitement to come.

This is an amazing first novel for a new author. Heck, it's an amazing novel for anyone. This was recommended to me, but I hadn't expected much. Mossad and Hezbollah intrigue wasn't something that I follow, and I didn't expect this book to hold my interest.

I was very, very wrong. This book grabbed my attention from the start and never let up. I found myself reading it when I was supposed to be doing other things because I couldn't put it down. The unraveling of the plot, including the author's suspenseful tying in of the various plot lines had me mesmerized.

His characters stayed true to their nature. I was all set to become upset over any emotional entanglement between the two main characters, regardless of the well-known adrenalin connection between those who have been through hazardous situations together. But the author handled it with believability, specifically the scene at the end.

I rate this novel up there with some of my favorite authors and I'm looking forward to his next novel.

When I first glanced at the story description, I thought, Israelis and terrorists--not my cup of tea. But I read the first few pages and it grabbed me. At the end of chapter one, the protagonist, a humble bookstore manager, tries to figure out why his identity was linked to the death of a known terrorist.

Just like that, maybe five hundred words in, and you have a question you want answered. That kind of writing is rare in a debut author and when you discover it, you feel like Howard Carter opening that tomb.

The characters are ordinary people drawn from your family, your neighbors, your coworkers. There are no demigods, no super humans, no magical powers, no extraordinary luck. These are people who toil in lower to middle-income jobs reacting to danger the way you would, rising to the occasion as you would, falling apart as you would. Their emotions are deep and visceral.

A lot has been said about traditionally published authors presenting a cleaner, more readable story than indie authors. There is a certain amount of truth in that argument because Amazon presents no filter, no standard for editing and proofreading. And, as an indie reviewer, I have seen a disappointing number of indie books that should never have been released. The good news is that there are many great indie books out there rivaling traditionally published novels.

Mr. Charnes has established a higher standard: Doha 12 is better than any traditionally published thriller.

For a more detailed review, see my website at seeleyjames.com