Innocent Blood

by Christopher Dickey

He is the perfect terrorist.

He's an all-American boy.

Kurt Kurtovic is someone you might know -- and ought to fear.

Kurt was a U.S. Army Ranger. Born and raised in Kansas, he was trained to kill for -- what? Once he might have said "for God and country." Kurt searches in the former Yugoslavia, the land of his parents, for a place, for faith, for a cause. In the midst of the horrors in Bosnia, Kurt is recruited to fight by a holy warrior, a terrorist Iago, who plays on all of Kurt's doubts and America is the evil behind the horror, but Kurt can change it. He can take the war home. He can penetrate to the heart of the U.S. elite. He can teach his country a lesson so horrible it will never forget.

In this riveting story of war, love, and deception, Christopher Dickey takes us to the white-hot core of the terrorist mind. Innocent Blood is as real as today's headlines -- and tomorrow's.

Genres: Thriller

336 pages, Paperback

First published June 11, 1997

About the author

Christopher Dickey is a war correspondent, historian, and thriller writer, an authority on terrorism, and a memoirist. He is the Paris-based foreign editor of The Daily Beast, and is a contributor to NBC/MSNBC News. Chris also has been a frequent commentator on CNN, the BBC, and NPR. He was formerly a bureau chief for Newsweek in Paris and Cairo, and for The Washington Post in Central America and the Middle East.

Reviews

[Scott Holstad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is an excellent novel, very well written, well told. Dickey easily takes us from Kurt's Kansas upbringing to his times as a US Ranger to later visiting the former Yugoslavia, the land of his parents, to his essentially becoming a Muslim jihadist, and he makes it really believable. I don't know how the author was able to get into the mind of an American terrorist like he did, but it's entirely believable. The events leading up to the book's climax would make one possibly feel the need for a "big bang" type finish, and I was prepared for a letdown, but Dickey pulled off a nice finish with aplomb. I was fascinated to note that this book was written before 9/11. It seems so fitting post-9/11. This is definitely a page turner. I'm glad I picked it up.

[Ida · Rating 3 out of 5]

A page-turning novel which raises questions about fundamental religion. Kurt, born and raised in Kansas, becomes a US Ranger, only to find himself questioning his values and beliefs as he delves into his past. "Innocent Blood" deals with the psychology and frightening logic behind extreme violence. Dickey wrote this book before 9/11. He had clearly done his homework.