The Guardian

by David Hosp

When a CIA informant from Kandahar is gunned down in a suburban area of Virginia, Jack Saunders is tasked with uncovering a plot that could alter the fate of Afghanistan and unsettle a tepid peace in the Middle East. But when a raid on a radical safe house goes horribly wrong, Jack finds himself without support from his own government.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller

422 pages, Paperback

First published August 2, 2012

About the author

David Hosp is a trial lawyer who spends a portion of his time working pro bono on behalf of wrongly convicted individuals. He lives with his wife and family in Boston.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

At a time when Al Qaeda and the Taliban were still buzzwords in the region, David Hosp penned this thriller piece that centres around an ancient relic and its importance to the Afghan people. The 'Heart of Afghanistan' is said to date as far back as the time of Mohammed and has been kept safe in the country for many centuries. Having only been revealed publicly three times, the Heart guides its holder to great prominence over the Afghan people and sanctions their destiny. During extensive looting and pillaging in the aftermath of the War in Afghanistan, the Heart is shuttled out of the region. Intercepted inadvertently by an American soldier, Charles Phalen, a number of groups are seeking its return. When Phalen returns to Boston, he reconnects with his sister, Cianna, who was herself serving in the region before a dust-up sent her back stateside. Revealing to her what he has in his possession, the Phalens begin trying to plan their next step, which includes selling this most unique item. When they are visited by suspended CIA operative Jack Saunders, the three seek to keep the Heart from landing in the wrong hands. An encrypted intercept shows that the Taliban are on to Charles and have sent a team to take back the Heart, with the Agency also trying to track it down for their own purposes. Charles is captured and tortured, revealing the location of the Heart, after a horrible encounter with a blood-thirsty man. Cianna and Saunders continue their mission, remaining a step ahead of those chasing them, only to learn that the Heart is more than it seems. Deception and bravery are key to success, though this relic means much to the Taliban, who will kill for its return. Cianna and Saunders connect with one person they feel can be trusted, until they, too, fall victim to the wiles of the ruthless Taliban operatives. While goodness and honesty should prevail, trouble is, time is running out and there are fewer safe options from which to choose. Hosp delivers a politically-rich drama that offers some insight into the Afghan situation, while also painting a somewhat bleak picture of the current path to peace.

With all his novels centred around Boston, Hosp is forced to push the limits if he wants to include his story to fit in New England. He does so wonderfully as he offers a curious and highly intriguing backstory of his two protagonists, Cianna Phelan and Jack Saunders. Both receive much of the narrative time as Hosp paints their journeys to the present, dotted with struggle on both sides of the law. The plot does have a cookie-cutter nature to it: missing relic in the hands of an innocent person, chased by the evildoers, must save it before it lands in the bad people's grasp. That said, the narrative pushes the story along nicely and Hosp's attention to detail really does make things all the more interesting. His somewhat veiled diatribes about the American involvement in the region can get a little thick, but it serves its purpose to sell the impetus both sides have to ensure the Heart falls into the proper hands. While this is surely a one-off novel, having seen Hosp's previous work, I am certain to read another and I encourage readers to give this and his other novels a try. The action alone keeps them highly interesting and forces readers to teeter on the edge of their seat.

Kudos, Mr. Hosp for this poignant novel. You are able to boil things down nicely while keeping a high degree of action in the telling of this story.

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[Wilde Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A religious icon is stolen and transported to the US where various people end up fighting over it.

I thought this was book had a good story with plenty of twists and turns and some solid characters.

Worth reading if you enjoy thrillers.

[Malcolm · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good thriller that keeps you turning the pages. A quick easy read.

[Bec Pearce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guns and action and terrorists and running around and Afghanistan and CIA and other government spooks and... Just lovely writing. David Hosp is a genius. A bloody genius.

[Laraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 star read. This stand alone by Hosp was a good little thriller. Special Agent Jack Saunders is called in "when a CIA informant from Kandahar is gunned down just outside Washington." He's tasked with finding out who killed him and why and uncovers a plot that needs to be dealt with. He locates and brings in Chiarra Phelan, a former decorated soldier who has just got out of prison, whose brother Charlie was part of the plot. Charlie has brought home a relic from Afghanistan that he thinks will get him big money for him and his sister. But unknown to Charlie, the relic is very important to Islam and there are people who will kill him and anyone else to get their hands on it. As they work to find Charlie and the relic, they are up against some very dangerous people and not all of them are from Afghanistan. Things are never as they seem. This was a good read and I enjoyed it.

[Yassin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This stoy is ultimately a redemption arc for Cianna Phelan, losing her brother in many ways to helping a young girl (Maggy) in the end & practically trying to save a life. I did like the story for about the first 3 quarters of the way through the book but the moment Saunders finds out he is being played & then the build up to the end was way too fast for me. I feel like the book could have done with some more chapters for sure. I like the fact we learned more about each character as the book went on & I think I was able to grasp the idea of how the story was going to pan out, but it was too fast paced for my liking especially towards the end where it’s just a massive jump from one setting to another with no substance in between to fill the void

[Mavis Duncanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very clearly in the thriller genre with graphic and often violent scenes throughout. I thought that this book was amazingly written with complex characters and plot twists that kept me engaged from beginning to end. Arguably some reinforcing of stereotypes, but also provided insight into the diverse range of human motivations and relationships. This book was overall a very satisfying read.

[Madge · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

[Saravanan Kanniah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and half Star. A good story. Simply to read. Less flashbacks within flashbacks.

[Kevin Pease · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moves along quickly, main characters well presented, story ok..ish.

[Mandi Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the story although at times I felt that the writer assumed we wouldn't understand something that was going on and therefore 'over-explained' in the narrative.
Passed on to a Dutch man that we met in Bitche, France (sadly I forgot to write my name and dates read in the cover 1st :( )

[Baoyi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Guardian is a bit of a disappointment, I think.

I love Hosp's Scott Finn series, and thought it'd be worth it to read this book. However, there are a few things that are wanting:

> There are only so many times you can use the "instinct has never steered me wrong" excuse before it loses its thrilling factor and becomes a device that does nothing more than steering characters to do what you want them to.
> It's hard to believe that a super Agent like Saunders would make a rookie mistake (like calling his boss' office number). Again, read the first point.
> It's hard to relate to any of the characters. I don't like them, but neither do I hate them. It's a little difficult to enjoy a book when the reader is pretty much indifferent to the characters.

I can nonetheless admire Detective Harvey Morrell.

'You followed me,' he said slowly.

'I did.'

Where are you now?' Saunders held his breath as he waited for the answer.

'You told me to follow the box, and it would lead me to my brother's killer,' Morrell said at last. 'Now, tell me what's going on.'

Because Morrell's fucking smart, that's why. He made me laugh, the funny guy.

[Jim Puskas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sharp departure from Hosp's earlier books that centred around the seamy urban underworld, mostly around Boston. Here he moves into the world of Islamic conflict emanating from Afghanistan -- although the story mostly takes place in the US and involves and internecine rivalry in the US security establishment. Hosp handles this unfamiliar territory fairly well, but I still find myself wishing he would get back to Boston gangsterism and bring back our old friend Scott Finn.
As he always does, Hosp presents us with a compelling and damaged central character in Cianna, a tough, resourceful, likeable former soldier who has proven herself to be an exceptional warrior but has run badly afoul of the political realities of the command chain. Saunders, her CIA ally is almost a stock character who could have been created by Grisham or Forsyth, but where Hosp really shines is in his secondary characters such as Spudgie the tavern-keeper and Gruden the gangster; they are the types that really lend atmosphere to Hosp's books.
A very fast-moving, enjoyable read.

[A page · Rating 5 out of 5]

another great read by David Hosp.

[Rach · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent read, nail biting & exciting

[Rach · Rating 5 out of 5]

brilliant

[Vivacious · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another of my new favourite authors. I love that David Hosp weaves a fiction story around facts. The Daily Mail put it aptly: this book crackles from the beginning and doesn't let up.

[Tazkatie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant, well thought out story, great characters.. 100 per cent page turner.

[Saravanan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and half Star. A good story. Simply to read. Less flashbacks within flashbacks.