Brian O'Hare's Reviews > One Night in Tehran

Brilliantly Written Thriller

What gives One Night in Tehran its authentic feel is the author's knowledge of the situation in the Middle East, her familiarity with its customs and her intense research into the processes of the FBI and the CIA. All is extremely convincing. But it takes more than depth of research to grab a reader's attention from the beginning of a story and hold it to the very end. That requires imagination and the skill to turn that imagination into words. Ms. Erlich has that enviable quality in her writing that really good actors have. The writing never obtrudes or causes the reader to look at it in any questioning way. It is that perfect mix of quality prose and dialogue that is so natural that reader is aware only of story, drawn unwittingly into the very heart of what is happening.

This is part spy story, part detective novel and it succeeds brilliantly on both counts. There is plenty of action and intrigue and the reader is surprised by the speed at which the pages fly by. The characters are drawn with skill and depth and I was particularly impressed with the convincing manner in which the various ‘spooks’ and their bosses were drawn. I can see these people in future Titus Ray books playing vigorous roles on a much larger Middle Eastern stage.

There is, too, a budding romance between Titus and the woman police detective who comes to investigate the murder of an Iranian student at the centre where Titus is working part-time. It is a heart-warming aside and a relief from the bloody events that have taken place but the book never strays into the pointlessness of gratuitous sex and violence to grab the readers' attention. A big congratulation to Luana for that. Her story does not suffer the slightest disadvantage because of this.

I really enjoyed reading One Night in Tehran and am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. It is a book that I would highly recommend to all those who love thrillers and crime stories.