Stinger

by Diana R. Chambers

An espionage thriller set in pre-Taliban Afghanistan. When a shipment of Stinger missiles disappears, a CIA officer becomes entangled in an unusual triangle with a journalist and her former lover, now an elusive mujahideen chief. These characters lead us into a world of danger, a world of spy versus spy, where hidden agendas provide their own kind of veil. until the truth is revealed in a shocking climax. From the last battlefield of the Cold War to the tribal no-man's land of the War on Terror, Stinger sets the stage for the profound events playing out today in Central Asia.

Genres: Thriller

222 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 2, 2012

About the author

Diana R. Chambers was born with a book in one hand and a passport in the other. After studying Asian Art History at university, she worked at a Paris translation agency, then it was off to India to open an exporting business. She is an experienced scriptwriter, and her research has led her around the world. Her novel, The Secret War of Julia Child, inspired by Julia's OSS service in WWII Asia, is due out from Sourcebooks Landmark October 22, 2024.

Diana lives in Northern California and Aix-en-Provence, France with her fellow-traveler husband and artist daughter. Marco Polo, their feral cat, comes and goes. She is still searching for the perfect suitcase. Join her at DianaRChambers.com. Instagram @dianarc1.
facebook.com/DianaChambersAuthor. twitter.com/DianaRChambers.

Reviews

[Ana Manwaring · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stinger is my idea of the classic spy thriller. The twists and turns of the tightly-woven plot kept me reading. The political intrigue could have been taken right from the historical record of the Soviet-Afghan War in the mid 1980s. Set at the border between Pakistan and the mountainous tribal region of Afghanistan, the action opens with the disappearance of six U.S. Stinger missiles that have secretly found their way to Peshawar. The Soviets want to keep them from the Afghan Mujahideen, Pakistani and Chinese dealers want to sell to the highest bidder, and the Afghani freedom fighters desperately need advanced weaponry. Rogue CIA officer Nick Daley and Robin, a San Francisco journalist, want to find the Afghan leader for different and shocking reasons. A tragic love triangle forms and is played out against drug deals, murder, betrayals, courage, loyalty, and the history and culture of this Muslim region. It’s a dangerous game in a mysterious world that comes together in a surprise climax and ending.

The depth of Chambers’s research impressed me. The story is concise yet rich—just the right amount of action perfectly balanced with images that lead the mind in unexpected directions. Her language is straightforward yet often lyrical, and her ability to describe her setting is superb. I feel as though I’ve visited Peshawar and traveled the Silk Road. The characters have depth and distinction. Even secondary characters are crafted to stand out individually. I came to like Nick Daley as he revealed himself and his motivations. I look forward to meeting him again.

Actor and voice-over artist Charles Kahlenberg is the audio book reader of Stinger. His deep sonorous voice added depth, mystery, excitement and plenty of tension to the story. I listened to the book twice, first just for the reader’s voice and again to catch all the details I’d missed. Listening to a well-interpreted book is like seeing a film. Kahlenberg is a professional actor with credits going back to his first role in the Coal Miner’s Daughter.

I’m giving Diana R. Chambers and Stinger five stars.

[Lenora Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think overall this is a great book. This book show the difficulties of war and what the innocent victims of war go through. There is plenty of danger and intrigue to keep you reading. I like the characters. I think the place in which the setting for this book is appropriate for what is happening today and gives the reader an Idea of what is involved in war. I recommend this book to anyone who is curious or interested in this subject matter.

Merged review:

This book is really great. If you like stories about the military and spies and espionage, you will love this. There is a lot of action and intrigue. I like the cast of characters. I kept waiting with every page to see what happened next. This is very well written and I recommend this book.

[Arthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diana Chambers captures the place of Afghanistan. When reading the story I could almost smell and taste the air. A complex and intriguing plot unveils among local factions, terrorists, and American intelligence. Right amount of romance is sprinkled throughout. Characters are complex and very interesting. Ms. Chambers is also a gifted writer and it was a pleasure to take in her words. Worth the time spent enjoying this book.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great read! I was drawn to the novel initially because I traveled in the time and places of its setting, and witnessed firsthand the sometimes rollicking, sometimes devastating insanity of Peshawar and eastern Afghanistan during the Soviet war there. One pleasure of the book is realizing that Chambers, too, was actually there. She knows of what she writes, and this by itself sets her apart from other Western writers on Afghanistan like Michener, Ken Follett, and yes--even Khaled Hosseini. True: it's Hosseini's country and Hosseini's countrymen, but for those who were actually there, The Kite Runner (at least) tends to betray an authorial distance and remove that Chamber's novel does not suffer from. It's a time and place that very few from the Western world witnessed firsthand, and I think it's incredibly valuable that Ms. Chambers managed to capture such a vivid, evocative, granular, and *accurate* snapshot before it was all lost to history forever.

I can't find it again now, but I saw another admiring reviewer say that the novel's characters and dialogue smack lightly of the old hardboiled gumshoe detective novels. It's true, and for me, it added yet another layer of realism, because that old 1930s/1940s nostalgia aesthetic was so essential to 1980s culture, at least in San Francisco, where both Chambers and a character or two from her novel hail from. It's yet another perfectly on-point part of Chamber's depiction that is somewhat otherwise lost to history--though it was the 1980s, you weren't really there if you didn't dig Linda Ronstadt's "What's New," or sometimes reflexively drop a throwaway line from Casablanca. I've even stumbled across an 80s playlist on Spotify that--so authentically--sprinkles in 1930s and 1940s tunes. That's another reason that Chambers' aesthetic resonates: Peshawar during the Soviet War across the border, with all its intrigues and unlikely sense of romance, WAS the Casablanca of its day, and Chambers isn't the only writer to say so.

A fast, fun, exotic read that really, actually takes you there.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a reason I don't read too many espionage books, all the double-crossing just confuses me. I don't understand how people can lie so easily without feeling guilty. Nick is a CIA operative in Pakistan who is arranging some sort of deal involving stinger weapons. Robin is a journalist who is determined to find her old love, Jamal, now a respected leader in Afghanistan. I found the sections with Robin to be annoying as she is just too self-involved and unappreciated of other cultures. Anyway, typical spy stuff with lots of countries trying to outdo the others, no one knows who they can trust, etc...