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Published May 2009
400 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
From a hidden enclave in the maze of Tehran, an Iranian scientist who calls himself "Dr. Ali" sends an encrypted message to the CIA. It falls to Harry Pappas to decide if it's for real. Dr. Ali sends more secrets of the Iranian bomb program to the agency, then panics. He's being followed, but he doesn’t know who’s onto him, and neither does Pappas. The White House is no help—they’re looking for a pretext to attack Tehran.
To get his agent out, Pappas turns to a secret British spy team known as "The Increment," whose operatives carry the modern version of the double-O "license to kill." But the real story here is infinitely more complicated than he understands, and to get to the bottom of it he must betray his own country.
The Increment is The Spy Who Came In from the Cold set in Iran, with a dose of Graham Greene’s The Human Factor to highlight the subtleties of betrayal.
"Ignatius matches dead-on dialogue to an increasingly complicated plot without sacrificing clarity. A thinking person's thriller with a timely take on recent international politics." - Kirkus Reviews
"While the realistic story lines build to a somewhat predictable ending, this remains a page-turner of the highest order." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. A sure bet for all thriller collections." - Library Journal
This information about The Increment was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
David Ignatius is a prize-winning columnist for the Washington Post and has been covering the Middle East and the CIA for four decades. He has written several New York Times bestsellers. He lives in Washington, DC.
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