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The Prisoner of Guantanamo
When the body of an American soldier is discovered in Cuban waters near the U.S. detention facility at Guantánamo, Revere Falk, a former FBI agent, is reassigned from his job interrogating an accused al-Qaeda operative to investigate the soldier’s mysterious death.
Falk soon finds himself in a deadly game of intrigue that stretches from the charged waters of Guantánamo Bay to the polished halls of Washington. Every move Falk makes could be costly, and to make matters worse, a dark figure from his past reappears, brandishing a secret he thought he had safely buried. The Prisoner of Guantánamo is a daring look at life behind the barbed wire of Gitmo and a riveting portrayal of what goes on in the most secret levels of our government.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Falk soon finds himself in a deadly game of intrigue that stretches from the charged waters of Guantánamo Bay to the polished halls of Washington. Every move Falk makes could be costly, and to make matters worse, a dark figure from his past reappears, brandishing a secret he thought he had safely buried. The Prisoner of Guantánamo is a daring look at life behind the barbed wire of Gitmo and a riveting portrayal of what goes on in the most secret levels of our government.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
61 people are currently reading
321 people want to read
About the author
Dan Fesperman
19 books418 followersDan Fesperman’s travels as a writer have taken him to thirty countries and three war zones. Lie in the Dark won the Crime Writers’ Association of Britain’s John Creasey Memorial Dagger Award for best first crime novel, The Small Boat of Great Sorrows won their Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award for best thriller, and The Prisoner of Guantánamo won the Dashiell Hammett Award from the International Association of Crime Writers. He lives in Baltimore.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
May 13, 2018
Good story. Not the best, but enjoyable.
June 23, 2016
One night along the Cuban coast that adjoins the United States naval base at Guantanamo a body washes ashore. The body that of an American serviceman is found by a Cuban police officer on patrol. The officer rushes down the hill to chase away an iguana, recognizes that the body he has located is American and realizes how important his find is. So begins Dan Fesperman’s THE PRISONER OF GUANTANAMO, a book that will capture the reader’s attention immediately and maintain interest as the plot continues to unfold.
Fesperman’s main character is a former Marine and FBI agent named Revere Falk who was fluent in Arabic and was employed by the Pentagon as an interrogator at Guantanamo. After introducing the reader to the interrogator’s craft, Fesperman discusses a Yemeni detainee named Adran al-Hamdi, who Falk has worked very hard to establish a working relationship with in order to obtain what he believes to be important intelligence. Al-Hamdi was captured in Afghanistan by the Northern Alliance and was considered a major “head case.”
Once the American corpse is identified as SGT Earle Ludwig, the Pentagon asks Falk for assistance with the investigation into his death. Falks’s running commentary throughout the novel provides interesting insights into the American approach at GITMO to obtain intelligence and the relationship between the various US intelligence agencies. As the story progresses Falk is forced to revisit his past, particularly an error he made as a young Marine dealing with Cuban intelligence in Havana. As Falk’s investigation into Ludwig’s death develops it appears that he may have been murdered. At this point a number of new characters are introduced. Pam Cable, Falk’s girlfriend and fellow interrogator, Tim Bokamper, an old friend and FBI agent, and Gonzales Rubiero, an American who lived in Miami Beach, but spied for the Cubans. Each of these characters plays an important role in addition to the two representatives that the Department of Homeland Security dispatches to GITMO forcing the story in a different direction.
Fesperman provides a number of important insights as the novel builds. The reader is taken inside al-Hamdi’s head to experience how detainees reacted to their imprisonment. In addition, Fesperman examines Cuban-American relations particularly in the post 9/11 world. “Little Havana,” in Miami Beach is explored in the context of the post-Cold War period and is very accurate.
The key aspect of the novel is how its component parts fit together. How does Falk’s career as a young Marine fit into the investigation of Ludwig’s death and the reaction of other federal agencies? How does Ludwig’s death relate to Falk’s interrogation of al-Hamdi? What role does Cuban intelligence play in the events surrounding Ludwig’s death and what is their interest in al-Hamdi? Finally, why do people close to Falk’s investigation begin to disappear? Fesperman weaves his answers very carefully as the reader tries to make sense of certain aspects of the novel that seem to unfold in a world of jihadists, Cubans, and other misshapen secrets. For example, were there “higher ups” in Washington looking for links between Fidel Castro and al-Qaeda as a pretext for who knows what? The problem for Falk is that every time he feels he has figured out what was going on the tables are turned and he grows even more confused.
This was my first experience reading one of Fesperman’s novels and as a result he has created a new fan! I am looking forward to reading THE WARLORD’S SON another of his books as soon as I can.
Fesperman’s main character is a former Marine and FBI agent named Revere Falk who was fluent in Arabic and was employed by the Pentagon as an interrogator at Guantanamo. After introducing the reader to the interrogator’s craft, Fesperman discusses a Yemeni detainee named Adran al-Hamdi, who Falk has worked very hard to establish a working relationship with in order to obtain what he believes to be important intelligence. Al-Hamdi was captured in Afghanistan by the Northern Alliance and was considered a major “head case.”
Once the American corpse is identified as SGT Earle Ludwig, the Pentagon asks Falk for assistance with the investigation into his death. Falks’s running commentary throughout the novel provides interesting insights into the American approach at GITMO to obtain intelligence and the relationship between the various US intelligence agencies. As the story progresses Falk is forced to revisit his past, particularly an error he made as a young Marine dealing with Cuban intelligence in Havana. As Falk’s investigation into Ludwig’s death develops it appears that he may have been murdered. At this point a number of new characters are introduced. Pam Cable, Falk’s girlfriend and fellow interrogator, Tim Bokamper, an old friend and FBI agent, and Gonzales Rubiero, an American who lived in Miami Beach, but spied for the Cubans. Each of these characters plays an important role in addition to the two representatives that the Department of Homeland Security dispatches to GITMO forcing the story in a different direction.
Fesperman provides a number of important insights as the novel builds. The reader is taken inside al-Hamdi’s head to experience how detainees reacted to their imprisonment. In addition, Fesperman examines Cuban-American relations particularly in the post 9/11 world. “Little Havana,” in Miami Beach is explored in the context of the post-Cold War period and is very accurate.
The key aspect of the novel is how its component parts fit together. How does Falk’s career as a young Marine fit into the investigation of Ludwig’s death and the reaction of other federal agencies? How does Ludwig’s death relate to Falk’s interrogation of al-Hamdi? What role does Cuban intelligence play in the events surrounding Ludwig’s death and what is their interest in al-Hamdi? Finally, why do people close to Falk’s investigation begin to disappear? Fesperman weaves his answers very carefully as the reader tries to make sense of certain aspects of the novel that seem to unfold in a world of jihadists, Cubans, and other misshapen secrets. For example, were there “higher ups” in Washington looking for links between Fidel Castro and al-Qaeda as a pretext for who knows what? The problem for Falk is that every time he feels he has figured out what was going on the tables are turned and he grows even more confused.
This was my first experience reading one of Fesperman’s novels and as a result he has created a new fan! I am looking forward to reading THE WARLORD’S SON another of his books as soon as I can.
June 10, 2013
Wow this was a very good book. At times I feared for Rever Falk's live and I think I got a little sea sick and prayed that he would make through a tropical storm.
First time reading from this author and I must admit it will not be my last.
It exposes a lot of corruption in our government and thanks for the Freedom Act. But so much scandal goes on day-to-day that civilians are not privy to know, sometimes its a good thing then other times it may not be as good. But my heart goes out to those families who have lost loved one and never received honest answers from the country they vowed to serve for closer.
First time reading from this author and I must admit it will not be my last.
It exposes a lot of corruption in our government and thanks for the Freedom Act. But so much scandal goes on day-to-day that civilians are not privy to know, sometimes its a good thing then other times it may not be as good. But my heart goes out to those families who have lost loved one and never received honest answers from the country they vowed to serve for closer.
September 7, 2018
Dan Fesperman can write, I'll certainly give him that. His 'Safe Houses' is one of my recent favorites, with both fine writing and a great plot. 'The Prisoner of Guantanamo' is likewise well-crafted, but the plot, although interesting and quite tricky, is a bit muddled. It's one of those books where you struggle to figure out what's really going on as the main character is doing the same.
Falk, the lead character, is an ex-Marine working for the FBI as an interviewer of detainees at Gitmo back in the early aughts. He's fluent in Arabic, which automatically makes him suspect in the eyes of the military guys on the base (one really positive aspect of the book is its educational aspect... I knew little about Gitmo and now know a lot more). He has a young Yemeni prisoner he's working on but is pulled into the investigation of the drowning of an American soldier who is found washed up on the beach on the 'wrong side' of the fence- in other words, in Cuban territory. The base commander wants results, but so do the various other acronyms (CIA, FBI, JIG, DHS....) who descend on Gitmo in short order. There seems to be a spy-hunt going on, but there's also an unusual level of interest in the drowning investigation.
'The Prisoner of Gitmo' is a bit too muddled in the end. Falk solves the case of the drowned solider, but nobody really wanted him to, as hidden agendas were popping up all over the place. Motivations were almost too well disguised- a character would appear and would act counterintuitively, confusing both the reader and the main character. The plot resolves itself in the end to an extent, but keeping the players and their respective agendas straight was a bit too much effort. Fine writing and a good plot at a high level, but a bit too much there, there.
Falk, the lead character, is an ex-Marine working for the FBI as an interviewer of detainees at Gitmo back in the early aughts. He's fluent in Arabic, which automatically makes him suspect in the eyes of the military guys on the base (one really positive aspect of the book is its educational aspect... I knew little about Gitmo and now know a lot more). He has a young Yemeni prisoner he's working on but is pulled into the investigation of the drowning of an American soldier who is found washed up on the beach on the 'wrong side' of the fence- in other words, in Cuban territory. The base commander wants results, but so do the various other acronyms (CIA, FBI, JIG, DHS....) who descend on Gitmo in short order. There seems to be a spy-hunt going on, but there's also an unusual level of interest in the drowning investigation.
'The Prisoner of Gitmo' is a bit too muddled in the end. Falk solves the case of the drowned solider, but nobody really wanted him to, as hidden agendas were popping up all over the place. Motivations were almost too well disguised- a character would appear and would act counterintuitively, confusing both the reader and the main character. The plot resolves itself in the end to an extent, but keeping the players and their respective agendas straight was a bit too much effort. Fine writing and a good plot at a high level, but a bit too much there, there.
December 23, 2025
hello political thriller 😍😍
June 15, 2011
Likeable characters, great plot twists.
June 18, 2014
One of his best. It was a look into Guantanamo like nobody else has given. I really like this author and have read most of his books. I'm delighted to have found one I haven't read, yet.
April 6, 2016
Captures the atmosphere of Guanatamo Bay brilliantly. An interesting hero. Fascinating politics. A great piece of story telling. One could smell the atmosphere of Cuba and paranoia.
April 23, 2010
The story brings FBI special agent Revere Falk to the infamous US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. As principal interrogator his job is to extract vital information from a jihadist detainee Adnan al-Handi, a young Yemeni captured during a fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan. He is strongly suspected of holding vital intelligence about the inner workings of al-Qaeda.
The novel focuses mainly on three events: Falks interrogation of Adnan , the investigation of the mysterious murder of a reservist whose body washes up on the shore of the base and the feared link to Falks youthful indiscretions which he has worked hard to hide.
The story brings out paranoia, rivalries and distrust. The plot is layered with intrigue and suspense, it provides enough detail to add credibility. The characters are portrayed nicely and it is easy to get into them, they feel real. It is an interesting novel that is cleverly written highlighting life at "Gitmo", a life dominated by the military
The novel focuses mainly on three events: Falks interrogation of Adnan , the investigation of the mysterious murder of a reservist whose body washes up on the shore of the base and the feared link to Falks youthful indiscretions which he has worked hard to hide.
The story brings out paranoia, rivalries and distrust. The plot is layered with intrigue and suspense, it provides enough detail to add credibility. The characters are portrayed nicely and it is easy to get into them, they feel real. It is an interesting novel that is cleverly written highlighting life at "Gitmo", a life dominated by the military
June 21, 2013
I can't think of the last time I read a political thriller (if ever?!) but I liked it and found it to be a good, not over-my-head-with-too-many-twists read. Falk, the main character, was likable, not over-capable in an unbelievable way. He had his secrets and his mistakes which made him a more accessible "hero." As a Floridian, I liked any time Miami shows up, as this is a city I'm getting to know better. I could picture the route to the second meeting with Paco well.
As for the Guantanamo setting, the ridiculousness of the various chains of command, the odd relationship between CIA/FBI agents and military, and the treatment of prisoners. All believable. All depressing!
As for the Guantanamo setting, the ridiculousness of the various chains of command, the odd relationship between CIA/FBI agents and military, and the treatment of prisoners. All believable. All depressing!
January 16, 2014
This was an interesting and entertaining novel with fine attention to detail, good characters and an exciting plot. Unfortunately as a non American I have to confess to being a little confused with the identities of all the agencies involved.
Falk was with the F.B.I. and Whitaker the C.I.A. but the rest were a bit foggy. Military, Homeland, N.S.A. ? Dunno.
It just didn't seem clear enough and therefore, just a little messy. Also, even though I quite liked the cutesy ending it did seem a little like he was running out of paper.
Falk was with the F.B.I. and Whitaker the C.I.A. but the rest were a bit foggy. Military, Homeland, N.S.A. ? Dunno.
It just didn't seem clear enough and therefore, just a little messy. Also, even though I quite liked the cutesy ending it did seem a little like he was running out of paper.
October 8, 2009
PLOT BECAME MUCH TOO MUDDLED - WITH SO MANY CHARACTERS- AND UNCLEAR RESOLUTION- AT END- I WAS NOT SURE OF WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED- WELL WRITTEN,GOOD CHARACTERS, BUT LACKED COHERANT PLOT AND A CONCLUSION THAT CONNECTED ALL THE DOTS
August 20, 2018
I listened to the audiobook. It was an interesting story but the ending was meh. I went away thinking, is that the best the author could do?
June 24, 2024
A brutal and realistic portrayal of Guantanamo Bay or GITMO for short, but Fesperman had great trouble with the ending to his storyline. Any leak of information no matter how great or small from the high security centre AND being absent without leave or going AWOL would be not tolerated. Revere Falk, one of the main characters in the story, would not have kept his job as a translator after being doing either of these things and, yet he did both. But, the biggest problem that this person had with the story was the ending. This person thought the author had 'boxed himself into a corner' so to speak and left him with little room to move. To think that this novel actually won the Dashiell Hammett Award from the International Association of Crime Writers was laughable. Really?
Revealing state secrets or "the unauthorized release of government information" is treason and is punishable with prison. Ms. Reality Winner, for example, was a translator who worked for the US Airforce and was arrested in June 2017, for sharing information about the nations voting system. She was refused bail and in 2020 was eventually sentenced to prison for four years. Ms. Winner will get out of prison this year (2024) in November. Some seven, yes, seven years after being arrested. Heaven knows what would happen to the likes of Edward Snowden or Julian Assange if they were ever convicted.
This person has enjoyed many of Fesperman's other efforts especially 'Safe Houses' and 'Small Boats of Great Sorrow', but this person had many issues with the storyline with, 'The Prisoner of Guantanamo'. Why was the female translator, Pam Cobb, arrested? We, the reader, were only left to ponder because the author decided not to tell us. All we found out (at the end of the story) was that Ms. Cobb was released and sent back to work. Also, who was the character, "Hussein", no "Hussay" no again? It was actually, 'Jose' that Adnan had mentioned. Again we, the reader, were eventually left with no clear answers. Oh yeah, we, the reader, were informed that the Cuban authorities were still trying to find him. Whilst the author was clearly writing an opaque novel about the machinations of torture and accountability of the American government, he failed to answer some of these basic questions. David Cornwall AKA John Le Carre was obviously the very best at such efforts and to compare Fesperman to him is indeed a rather large stretch.
Some other Dan Fesperman novel's rated:
'A Small Boat of Sorrows' ~ 4 stars.
'Safe Houses' ~ 4 stars.
'The Letter Writer' ~ 3 stars.
and
'The Prisoner of Guantanamo' ~ 2 stars.
A Top 20 best of spy fiction-nonfiction. (In order of date):
1. 'The Quiet American', Graham Greene. (1955).
2. 'The Spy Who Came in From the Cold', Le Carre. (1963).
3. ‘Funeral in Berlin’, Len Deighton. (1964).
4. 'Other Paths of Glory', Anthony Price. (1974).
5. ‘Harry's Game’, Gerald Seymour. (1975).
6. ‘Berlin Game’, Len Deighton. (1982).
7. ‘Home Run’, Gerald Seymour. (1989).
8. 'Other Kinds of Treason', Ted Allbeury. (1990). (SS)*.
9. 'The Line Crosser', Ted Allbeury. (1991).
10. 'A Polish Officer', Allan Furst. (1995).
11. 'Absolute Friends', John Le Carre. (2003).
12. The Slough House series by Mick Herron. (2010 ~ ).
13. 'A Treachery of Spies', Manda Scott. (2018).
14. 'A Long Night In Paris', Dov Alfon. (2019).
15. ‘The Insider’, Matthew Richardson. (2021).
16. 'The Scarlet Papers’, Matthew Richardson. (2023).
17. The Secret Hours’, Mick Herron. (2023).
*(SS): short stories.
and three best non-fiction spy reads:
1. ‘An Officer and a Spy’, Robert Harris. (2013).
2. ‘A Spy amongst Friends’, John McIntyre. (2014).
3. 'Agent Sonya', John McIntyre. (2020).
The very best spy ~ espionage stories have tragedy and devastation as a constant theme. These can be encapsulated in stories by the likes of Graham Greene, John le Carre, Len Deighton, Ted Allbeury, Gerald Seymour and David Downing to the likes of fresh new crop of writers, such as Matthew Richardson, Mick Herron, Dan Fesperman, Alan Furst, Paul Vidich, Tom Bradby, Simon Conway and Joseph Cannon just to name a few. Happy reading!
Revealing state secrets or "the unauthorized release of government information" is treason and is punishable with prison. Ms. Reality Winner, for example, was a translator who worked for the US Airforce and was arrested in June 2017, for sharing information about the nations voting system. She was refused bail and in 2020 was eventually sentenced to prison for four years. Ms. Winner will get out of prison this year (2024) in November. Some seven, yes, seven years after being arrested. Heaven knows what would happen to the likes of Edward Snowden or Julian Assange if they were ever convicted.
This person has enjoyed many of Fesperman's other efforts especially 'Safe Houses' and 'Small Boats of Great Sorrow', but this person had many issues with the storyline with, 'The Prisoner of Guantanamo'. Why was the female translator, Pam Cobb, arrested? We, the reader, were only left to ponder because the author decided not to tell us. All we found out (at the end of the story) was that Ms. Cobb was released and sent back to work. Also, who was the character, "Hussein", no "Hussay" no again? It was actually, 'Jose' that Adnan had mentioned. Again we, the reader, were eventually left with no clear answers. Oh yeah, we, the reader, were informed that the Cuban authorities were still trying to find him. Whilst the author was clearly writing an opaque novel about the machinations of torture and accountability of the American government, he failed to answer some of these basic questions. David Cornwall AKA John Le Carre was obviously the very best at such efforts and to compare Fesperman to him is indeed a rather large stretch.
Some other Dan Fesperman novel's rated:
'A Small Boat of Sorrows' ~ 4 stars.
'Safe Houses' ~ 4 stars.
'The Letter Writer' ~ 3 stars.
and
'The Prisoner of Guantanamo' ~ 2 stars.
A Top 20 best of spy fiction-nonfiction. (In order of date):
1. 'The Quiet American', Graham Greene. (1955).
2. 'The Spy Who Came in From the Cold', Le Carre. (1963).
3. ‘Funeral in Berlin’, Len Deighton. (1964).
4. 'Other Paths of Glory', Anthony Price. (1974).
5. ‘Harry's Game’, Gerald Seymour. (1975).
6. ‘Berlin Game’, Len Deighton. (1982).
7. ‘Home Run’, Gerald Seymour. (1989).
8. 'Other Kinds of Treason', Ted Allbeury. (1990). (SS)*.
9. 'The Line Crosser', Ted Allbeury. (1991).
10. 'A Polish Officer', Allan Furst. (1995).
11. 'Absolute Friends', John Le Carre. (2003).
12. The Slough House series by Mick Herron. (2010 ~ ).
13. 'A Treachery of Spies', Manda Scott. (2018).
14. 'A Long Night In Paris', Dov Alfon. (2019).
15. ‘The Insider’, Matthew Richardson. (2021).
16. 'The Scarlet Papers’, Matthew Richardson. (2023).
17. The Secret Hours’, Mick Herron. (2023).
*(SS): short stories.
and three best non-fiction spy reads:
1. ‘An Officer and a Spy’, Robert Harris. (2013).
2. ‘A Spy amongst Friends’, John McIntyre. (2014).
3. 'Agent Sonya', John McIntyre. (2020).
The very best spy ~ espionage stories have tragedy and devastation as a constant theme. These can be encapsulated in stories by the likes of Graham Greene, John le Carre, Len Deighton, Ted Allbeury, Gerald Seymour and David Downing to the likes of fresh new crop of writers, such as Matthew Richardson, Mick Herron, Dan Fesperman, Alan Furst, Paul Vidich, Tom Bradby, Simon Conway and Joseph Cannon just to name a few. Happy reading!
July 22, 2025
This is my third Dan Fesperman book in a row. They’ve been wonderful. They’ve all been different. This one I also put under the mystery as well as novel character tags because I only use mystery for thrillers and suspense and that kind of thing it’s too difficult besides I’d put that down before I start reading it so it makes it just easier. The book itself is exciting. I learned a lot more about Guantánamo And I knew it was hot and I knew it was nasty. But I also learned more about how some of the people felt about it and I also learned more about their interviewing, etc. although the papers have told us enough about the bad stuff that has happened down there I’m sorry that it’s still in existence. I wish somebody would figure out how we’re gonna get out of that mess. I hope it soon. My thanks to Bard who provides me with so many of my books. it is bad enough to be come reading disabled is the word I guess that’s what they’re calling it but thank heavens for Bard. I went from no longer being able to read paperbacks to reading regular books to reading large print books and then to audiobooks, and since I can’t really read the newspapers or watch watch television, it’s hard to watch television when you really can’t see what’s on the screen And but you can’t play bridge. Can’t do a lot of things. These books have been an absolute godsend and the people at Bard are really very very pleasant delight to be to work with and I think Bard for it. Take care of your eyes see your eye doctor yearly basis wear your sunglassesand hat.
December 7, 2009
The problem with writing a novel whose story is ripped from the headlines is that the headlines keep coming after the novel is published. Obsolescence sets in.
But Dan Fesperman knows something about headlines: As a foreign correspondent for the Baltimore Sun he was responsible for quite a few of them. And he knows something about novels: He's one of the best writers of intelligent thrillers based on contemporary events working today.
So even though headlines about Guantánamo keep coming, Fesperman's novel The Prisoner of Guantánamo hasn't lost any of its edge and urgency.
Set in the summer of 2003, before the hubris in the phrase "mission accomplished" was fully evident, the novel centers on Revere Falk, an FBI interrogator whose fluency in Arabic has gotten him assigned to Guantánamo, a place he knows well, having been stationed there as a young Marine. Falk's "pet project" is a young Yemeni, Adnan el-Hamdi, who was captured in Afghanistan. Falk has gradually earned Adnan's trust, and one day the detainee decides to give him a "great gift": the name of a key figure in Adnan's al-Qaeda cell. Falk initially hears the name as "Hussein," but Adnan insists that it's "Hussay" – which confuses Falk, because it's not a common Arabic name. The interview is interrupted before Falk can probe further.
Meanwhile, the Cubans have discovered the body of a soldier stationed at Guantánamo washed up on the shore on their side of the fence. Falk, the son of a Maine lobsterman, is an experienced sailor, and he knows that if the soldier had drowned while swimming, the currents around the bay would make it impossible for the body to drift toward the Cuban side. A boating accident seems equally unlikely. So Falk gets involved in the investigation of the death.
The Arabic-speaking interpreters and interrogators are regarded with suspicion on the base, especially by the rank-and-file soldiers, who "tended to hear from their officers 24/7 that each and every one of the detainees was a hardened killer and an experienced terrorist, who in at least some way shared responsibility for 9/11. It was part of the effort to keep them motivated and boost their morale." So when a translator working for a security contractor at Guantánamo is arrested, and there's a sudden influx of investigators from Homeland Security and the Department of Defense, Falk gets wary. He's also surprised that one of the investigators is an old friend, Ted Bokamper, from the State Department.
Falk owes a lot to Bokamper. When Falk was a Marine stationed at Guantánamo, he was curious about the Cuba just over the fence, so he made an unauthorized trip there while on leave and fell into a trap set by Cuban intelligence, who blackmailed him into passing along information about the base. But Falk had a powerful friend to help him out of this bind. Panicked, he got in touch with Bokamper, whose mentor at State, Saul Endler -- "One part Kissinger and two parts alchemist" -- recognized that it could be useful to know what sort of information the Cubans wanted Falk to provide. Bokamper and Endler helped set up Falk as a double agent. Later, Bokamper helped Falk get a security clearance to join the FBI, which doesn't know that Falk has also been spying for the State Department
So now, along with Adnan's cryptic revelation, the soldier's mysterious drowning and the translator's arrest, Falk gets word that his Cuban contact wants to meet with him. Something's going on, but what? In the course of figuring it out, Falk will learn the wisdom of the adage: Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. If, that is, you can tell which is which.
There's some standard thriller plotting here, with the usual shadowy alliances and betrayals, a bit of action and some hide-and-seek chases, and the ending has something of an anticlimactic feeling. But what makes the novel work is the attention to detail, especially Fesperman's evocation of Guantánamo – a.k.a. Gitmo -- itself. He gives us the physical layout -- the 45 square miles of swamp, six square miles of which is habitable; the barracks and the detention facilities; the fences and the sea; the soldiers, American and Cuban, keeping a steady eye on one another – but he's even better at creating the emotional atmosphere, the tedium and the tension, the paranoia and the boredom.
It's the right setting for a thriller, but the trick is not to let the sensations of fiction trivialize the reality. It's pretty clear where Fesperman stands on the controversy over Guantánamo, which he views in the light of Abu Ghraib and the subsequent debate over torture. The novel's principal female character, Pam Cobb, Falk's girlfriend and fellow interrogator, has been successful enough with conventional methods that she has avoided the orders to "attempt to get information from detainees by sexually humiliating them. One of Pam's shapelier but less fortunate roommates ended up stripping to her bra and panties in one such attempt. … The subjects only retreated deeper into anger and silence. The interrogator … locked herself into a restroom for an hour, sobbing in shame."
And Fesperman obviously has no use for neoconservative hawks, "out to save the world one conquest at a time," for the novel hinges on the possibility of another "splendid little war" – as the one in Iraq was thought to be in mid-2003. He's also snarky about the jargon of power-players like the guy from Homeland Security who says things like, "Other than Iraq, Gitmo's the single most important front right now in the GWOT." The more cynical Falk interprets this for another new arrival: "Global War on Terrorism. Gitmo acronym 12-b. You'll know 'em all within forty-eight hours. I'd urge you to start using the word 'robust' within the next twenty-four."
Back in the early '90s, there was some naïve speculation that the end of the Cold War had made the thriller irrelevant, that the moral angst of John Le Carré and the flag-waving technolatry of Tom Clancy would go out of style. But the world remained scary and violent, as Fesperman himself demonstrated in his earlier novels set in Bosnia and Afghanistan. Observant, thoughtful, witty and concerned, he has robustly adapted the thriller to the age of the GWOT.
But Dan Fesperman knows something about headlines: As a foreign correspondent for the Baltimore Sun he was responsible for quite a few of them. And he knows something about novels: He's one of the best writers of intelligent thrillers based on contemporary events working today.
So even though headlines about Guantánamo keep coming, Fesperman's novel The Prisoner of Guantánamo hasn't lost any of its edge and urgency.
Set in the summer of 2003, before the hubris in the phrase "mission accomplished" was fully evident, the novel centers on Revere Falk, an FBI interrogator whose fluency in Arabic has gotten him assigned to Guantánamo, a place he knows well, having been stationed there as a young Marine. Falk's "pet project" is a young Yemeni, Adnan el-Hamdi, who was captured in Afghanistan. Falk has gradually earned Adnan's trust, and one day the detainee decides to give him a "great gift": the name of a key figure in Adnan's al-Qaeda cell. Falk initially hears the name as "Hussein," but Adnan insists that it's "Hussay" – which confuses Falk, because it's not a common Arabic name. The interview is interrupted before Falk can probe further.
Meanwhile, the Cubans have discovered the body of a soldier stationed at Guantánamo washed up on the shore on their side of the fence. Falk, the son of a Maine lobsterman, is an experienced sailor, and he knows that if the soldier had drowned while swimming, the currents around the bay would make it impossible for the body to drift toward the Cuban side. A boating accident seems equally unlikely. So Falk gets involved in the investigation of the death.
The Arabic-speaking interpreters and interrogators are regarded with suspicion on the base, especially by the rank-and-file soldiers, who "tended to hear from their officers 24/7 that each and every one of the detainees was a hardened killer and an experienced terrorist, who in at least some way shared responsibility for 9/11. It was part of the effort to keep them motivated and boost their morale." So when a translator working for a security contractor at Guantánamo is arrested, and there's a sudden influx of investigators from Homeland Security and the Department of Defense, Falk gets wary. He's also surprised that one of the investigators is an old friend, Ted Bokamper, from the State Department.
Falk owes a lot to Bokamper. When Falk was a Marine stationed at Guantánamo, he was curious about the Cuba just over the fence, so he made an unauthorized trip there while on leave and fell into a trap set by Cuban intelligence, who blackmailed him into passing along information about the base. But Falk had a powerful friend to help him out of this bind. Panicked, he got in touch with Bokamper, whose mentor at State, Saul Endler -- "One part Kissinger and two parts alchemist" -- recognized that it could be useful to know what sort of information the Cubans wanted Falk to provide. Bokamper and Endler helped set up Falk as a double agent. Later, Bokamper helped Falk get a security clearance to join the FBI, which doesn't know that Falk has also been spying for the State Department
So now, along with Adnan's cryptic revelation, the soldier's mysterious drowning and the translator's arrest, Falk gets word that his Cuban contact wants to meet with him. Something's going on, but what? In the course of figuring it out, Falk will learn the wisdom of the adage: Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. If, that is, you can tell which is which.
There's some standard thriller plotting here, with the usual shadowy alliances and betrayals, a bit of action and some hide-and-seek chases, and the ending has something of an anticlimactic feeling. But what makes the novel work is the attention to detail, especially Fesperman's evocation of Guantánamo – a.k.a. Gitmo -- itself. He gives us the physical layout -- the 45 square miles of swamp, six square miles of which is habitable; the barracks and the detention facilities; the fences and the sea; the soldiers, American and Cuban, keeping a steady eye on one another – but he's even better at creating the emotional atmosphere, the tedium and the tension, the paranoia and the boredom.
It's the right setting for a thriller, but the trick is not to let the sensations of fiction trivialize the reality. It's pretty clear where Fesperman stands on the controversy over Guantánamo, which he views in the light of Abu Ghraib and the subsequent debate over torture. The novel's principal female character, Pam Cobb, Falk's girlfriend and fellow interrogator, has been successful enough with conventional methods that she has avoided the orders to "attempt to get information from detainees by sexually humiliating them. One of Pam's shapelier but less fortunate roommates ended up stripping to her bra and panties in one such attempt. … The subjects only retreated deeper into anger and silence. The interrogator … locked herself into a restroom for an hour, sobbing in shame."
And Fesperman obviously has no use for neoconservative hawks, "out to save the world one conquest at a time," for the novel hinges on the possibility of another "splendid little war" – as the one in Iraq was thought to be in mid-2003. He's also snarky about the jargon of power-players like the guy from Homeland Security who says things like, "Other than Iraq, Gitmo's the single most important front right now in the GWOT." The more cynical Falk interprets this for another new arrival: "Global War on Terrorism. Gitmo acronym 12-b. You'll know 'em all within forty-eight hours. I'd urge you to start using the word 'robust' within the next twenty-four."
Back in the early '90s, there was some naïve speculation that the end of the Cold War had made the thriller irrelevant, that the moral angst of John Le Carré and the flag-waving technolatry of Tom Clancy would go out of style. But the world remained scary and violent, as Fesperman himself demonstrated in his earlier novels set in Bosnia and Afghanistan. Observant, thoughtful, witty and concerned, he has robustly adapted the thriller to the age of the GWOT.
October 18, 2022
Decisions made at a young age can come back to bite you later. And in Fesperman's book they go. I like the author. As a journalist who has "lived experience" (although not lived in Guantanamo Bay which is the setting for this book) he captures the environment of the area.
You will have to decide: Who is "The Prisoner?" Are there several, or one?
Good read and I am working my way through everything he has written.
You will have to decide: Who is "The Prisoner?" Are there several, or one?
Good read and I am working my way through everything he has written.
September 28, 2021
Wow! No white hats in this 'story'. Almost like the author gets all his GTMO gouge from a Rosenberg, who wouldn't recognize the truth if it walked up and bit her on the nose. Don't know much about inside the wire, but was living there at the purported time, and descriptions of 'mainside' life are way off. Fesperman is no Clancy, unfortunately.
July 3, 2024
An intriguing, complex and atmospheric thriller set against the backdrop of the Guantanamo base. The multilayered plot takes several twists and turns (and leaves behind a couple of loose ends...), driven by compelling characters.
My experience with Dan Fesperman's books is a mixed one, sort of hit-and-miss; this was clearly a hit for me.
My experience with Dan Fesperman's books is a mixed one, sort of hit-and-miss; this was clearly a hit for me.
December 29, 2019
This is the first book I’ve read by Fesperman. It seemed to start slowly, but once I got used to the characters and figured out who was who, I was hooked. There was plenty of unpredictability and enough cynicism to capture the intelligence community milieu. I’m ready for more Fesperman.
August 8, 2021
Fascinating thriller and an uncomfortable trip to Gitmo. Lots of bad guys (who are supposed to be good guys, and a protagonist so well developed he becomes real. Twist and surprising turns and a satisfying conclusion.
June 28, 2019
While the plot was a bit complicated and the characters somewhat flat the setting and atmosphere made this a compelling read.
May 2, 2020
Political thriller thay kept me on my toes with (surprisingly!) minimal violence.
May 16, 2021
The second book I've read by this author. An excellent read. I have his "The Amateur Spy" in my queue and am looking forward to it.
March 30, 2023
A really good read combining excellent plot & characters with fascinating info about Gitmo.
November 13, 2023
His best book.
December 26, 2024
Good story in the background of early post 9/11 for me--complicated enough to keep you guessing, although a little bit too close to unlikely for some I suppose . . .
October 4, 2025
Took me awhile to get into this but I eventually was wrapped up in the story. Still some loose or tenuous plot points that aren’t worth thinking about too much. Not as good as his newer stuff.
November 13, 2025
Good, easy read - maybe 3.5
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