The Syndicate Spy
The Syndicate Spy
By: Brittany Butler
I enjoy a good spy thriller. This one had potential but it ended up being a spy thriller slash romance novel with a lot of violence and some graphic sex scenes.
A lot of the action and gun fights and settings were also hard to visualize. In some ways I wonder if this book would make a better movie because of all the action and the hard-to-keep-straight characters and events. After I googled the City of the Dead I realized what I was picturing was very different than real life… unless it was meant to be fictional?
As I was trying to summarize the plot below I realized there is so much going on that it’s really hard to recount in a concise way. Besides the main spy missions, the main character, whose boyfriend dies in a mysterious plane crash, battles romantic feelings with her new FBI counterpart. Plus we have a feminist thread of fighting against the way women are treated in the Middle East.
The main character is Juliet Arroway, “a former Army ranger turned Syndicate spy, charged with hunting energy terrorists.”
If you’re a Mission Impossible fan like me than it might be hard to wrap your mind around the concept of the Syndicate being the good guys instead of the bad guys. But it is a ‘good’ organization, although by the end of the book you may wonder what that means. The classic moral dilemma of ‘the greater good’ is a matter of ponderance here.
Juliet recruited her college roommate Mariam to work with the Syndicate. Why? Because Mariam is the daughter of the king of Saudi. The Middle East is a hotspot in the energy crisis the world has found itself in. The world is in need of alternative energy sources but there are people who would lose financially if certain energy resolutions are reached. Mariam is a bridge to the region and a valuable source with what’s going on the kingdom of Saudi Arabia where an alternative energy source may have been created.
“Mariam’s feminism was one of the things Juliet cherished most about her source— and friend. Since they’d met, Mariam had found every opportunity to speak out in ways to empower women and push to redefine an Arab woman’s role in society.”
The book covers several months as a variety of missions are conducted in an effort to capture Abu-Hassan who could give information on other operatives of al-Alfatih, the anti-alternate-energy terrorists, before more terrorist attacks can be carried out.
Can they take down the terrorist ring that threatens better global energy sources?
Is Mariam a source they can trust or is her family actually working with al-Alfatih to gain a monopoly on any new energy technology?
How will Juliet handle her romantic feelings for Agent Harding and can their relationship survive the tension of their mission?
Can Juliet avenge the death of her father by none other than Abu-Hassan?
The author, Brittany Butler, has a lot of first hand knowledge that she put to work in this novel. Her Goodreads author bio says that she “is a former CIA targeting officer with first-hand knowledge of the recruitment and handling of spies and dismantling terrorist networks abroad. She is a staunch advocate for women’s rights in the Middle East and works within her local community to resettle Afghan refugees.”
You can definitely tell that Butler has a lot of knowledge and experience that she writes from so most of it feels very authentic. There were a few times that I questioned the descriptions. Like Juliet’s ambiguous understanding of the Arabic language. Or the secret or not-so-secret existence of the Syndicate where Juliet had to keep her identity secret from her boyfriend but also she entered buildings flying the Syndicate flag and showed her Syndicate credentials at bomb scenes. Or the part where ten thousand troops come to the rescue but end up in flames… I was struggling to picture the size of the opposing forces and if they really could have been overcome they way they were.
But overall, Butler’s handling of the subject matter is impressive.
The feminist aspect of the story was really interesting to read about. I am aware of much of the oppression of women in the Middle East and definitely support certain measures to give women more rights and more voice in their culture. But some of the feminist comments rubbed me the wrong way.
For example, Juliet is constantly frustrated by Agent Harding trying to ‘protect her’ when she can ‘take care of herself.’ This is a common feminist ideal that women don’t need help with anything and any action taken to protect them is apparently belittling to them. Juliet is a very capable woman and I don’t really know how that plays out in military-type occupations— maybe Butler has it all right— but it seemed like there were times when she really did need his help and his protection.
She eventually says that “she did not need anyone to protect her, but she had wanted someone to make her feel safe.”
I think there is something inherently good about men trying to protect women and we should stop trying to push so hard against that as if it diminishes our own strength as women. Where is the humility and intimacy of that? Juliet even recognizes that feeling safe is an important thing. Perhaps we should try to see these actions with gratitude for people who care about us instead of seeing them as personal attacks against our person and abilities.
Then there is the quote, “I think this may be the first time in a long time that I will fight for my own beliefs, my own interests, rather than those of the men before me.” (this is Juliet saying this btw)
It seems to imply that ‘the men before me’ all had it wrong and she is more enlightened than to follow anything they stood for. History shows a picture of both men and women making both good and bad choices, ideologies that both hurt and helped. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with fighting for your own beliefs, but I think too often historical men are dismissed just because they are men.
There is a theme of tolerance in this book as well. And again, Butler gets it mostly right, but then it takes a turn:
“It’s only when we live in harmony with people who think differently than we do that we can achieve true peace and prosperity. That is why you will never win this war. You’re blind— blind to the fact that there is no one truth.”
The first part is absolutely right— we have to be able to live peaceably and be tolerant of people who think differently than ourselves. That is what is good about freedom of religion in America. We acknowledge that people believe different things and they should be allowed to hold their beliefs without violence. Tolerance is not forcing everyone to believe the same thing, but agreeing to disagree.
However, Butler seems to think this is synonymous with believing there is “no one truth.” I don’t think those things have to be connected. Just because people believe different things doesn’t mean they are both equally true. It’s very evident in terms of religion: God can’t both exist and not exist. Jesus can’t both be God’s Son and not God’s Son.
Truth is truth is truth. Regardless of what people believe about it.
Anyway, a couple other comments about this book.
The writing style was mostly good, but there were some words and phrases that were repeated quite a bit that was distracting to me.
Sweat was always pebbling.
Juliet’s veins were always turning to ice.
Graham’s smile was always crooked and enough could not be said about his stubbled jaw.
Things were all broad and flaming.
I don’t think I really liked the romance aspect of the book. It seemed like there were either gun fights happening or Juliet struggling with her feelings. Especially because her boyfriend of six years who she was contemplating marrying had only been dead 7 months. Is that long enough to move on like she was?
Plus there were two pretty graphic sex scenes that seem out of place for a spy thriller. Pick a lane!
Also- there isn’t a clear year that this takes place. There is a comment of Juliet losing her grandfathers to Covid in 2021 so it has to occur after that, but it’s not clear how far into the future. The world is in an energy crisis but there isn’t a lot of background knowledge to set up that aspect. It mostly feels like present day but I’m not sure if that is correct or not.
Recommendation
This book was okay for me— not great, but okay. It had potential but the graphic sexual content, abundance of violence, and hard-to-visualize action made this less likable for me.
There were some nice elements of action and suspense, very little swearing, and a couple twists—one I anticipated, and one I half-anticipated—but it’s one of those books that’s probably not for everyone.
Even though I’m not sure if I personally like the ending, I do appreciate the open-endedness in this scenario. Sometimes that bothers me, but in a book like this I think it makes sense to end it that way and to leave the reader pondering what they think about it. Especially because we may be heading towards some of the questions it raises.
If this were made into a PG-13 movie I think I’d be excited to watch it, but I think the lack of visuals in the book hindered it a bit.
If you like spy thrillers with a side of romance, you’ll enjoy this.
If you are intrigued by politics in the Middle East and seeing the difference between Islam and terrorist groups that twist the religion for their own benefit, you’ll probably find this interesting.
As I said, there are many things to be interested by, but if my comments on the execution of those ideas resonate with you, then you may want to look at a different espionage thriller.
[Content Advisory: 1 f- and 10 s-words; two graphic sex scenes that lasted a page or two; a lot of violence including beheadings; an almost rape]
**Received a copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway**
This book released March, 2023. You can order a copy of this book using my affiliate link below.
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