Guest Review: ‘Tehran’s Vengeance’ by Dave Austin

Justen Charters is an OSINT analyst and writer for Black Rifle Coffee Company’s “Coffee or Die” magazine. His articles mainly feature individuals in the intelligence, law enforcement, and military community. Previously a reporter, he has broken news on the international level regarding national security issues.

 

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Dave Austin spent twelve years as a CIA protective agent, working on the director’s detail, providing security for chiefs of station, case officers, and others in high-risk areas overseas. A bigtime fan of Clancy, Flynn, Taylor, Thor, and others, he had an idea for a novel materialize in his head a few years ago. That novel, Tehran’s Vengeance, has now become a reality.

Tehran’s Vengeance answers the question: What if Iran — a country known to play the long game — had delivered a crippling blow to America for devastating its nuclear program and capability?

Things kick off with a bang when a U.S. Ambassador is targeted in Iraq by the Quds Force, Iran’s special forces arm. The Quds Force operatives get the drop on the ambassador and his detail, but it’s just the beginning of what the Iranian regime has up its sleeve. They’ve been planning something much bigger for years.

The protagonist, Joe Matthews, steps into the picture. Matthews is a member of the CIA’s Special Activities Division. He splits his time between running a team that protects the CIA director and providing support for case officers abroad. When the ambassador is targeted, however, his only objective becomes hunting down those who are responsible for the hit. As he does, the Quds Force continue to execute their other ominous plans, dropping a lot more bodies along the way.

The suspense rarely lets up, with Austin making it clear to readers that he knows his stuff. The action scenes explode on the page with gritty and eye-opening detail. And it’s not hard to tell why Austin needed his book cleared by the CIA’s Publication Review Board, as he also gives you a cool glimpse into how operatives might use their tradecraft in the field.

At times, things move so quickly, you wish you had a little bit more backstory on Matthews. In addition, there are a few things that feel slightly redundant. Yet, the pacing packs such a punch that you soon find yourself more focused on the next gunfight or plot twist, which helps make up for gaps in the story, keeping you glued to the page.

Austin’s debut novel adds a new talent to the genre, and he’s someone you’ll want to keep an eye on moving forward.

Book Details

Author: Dave Austin 
Pages: 311 (Hardcover)
ISBN:1790295653
Publisher: Independently published
Release Date: December 19, 2018

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