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Security Day
It’s 2012 and the American war in Afghanistan isn’t going to plan. The Taliban are gaining strength everywhere except in Uruzgan Province where corrupt warlord Mir Hamza Khan rules without mercy.
When two American army soldiers are assassinated by an Afghan ally, rookie intelligence agent Dan Bing suspects Khan ordered the attack.
Before Khan can finish his deadly scheme, Dan must decide if he will follow the orders of his disillusioned officers to stand down and risk more American lives or recruit a known double agent capable of taking down the warlord.
When two American army soldiers are assassinated by an Afghan ally, rookie intelligence agent Dan Bing suspects Khan ordered the attack.
Before Khan can finish his deadly scheme, Dan must decide if he will follow the orders of his disillusioned officers to stand down and risk more American lives or recruit a known double agent capable of taking down the warlord.
374 pages, Paperback
First published October 17, 2021
29 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Matt Cricchio
3 books8 followersMatt Cricchio is the author of Day of Wrath and Security Day, a spy thriller based on his experience in Afghanistan as an interrogator and spy handler with Special Operations Forces. He has an MFA in Fiction from Virginia Commonwealth University and lives in Virginia with his family and their dog, Chewy, a rescue from Afghanistan. You can find him at www.mattcricchio.com
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 2, 2022
Security Day is a high-stakes tale of war and espionage with escalating tension that chronicles the complexities of conflict and climaxes into a pursuit for survival. Matt Cricchio does for the U.S. war in Afghanistan what Don Winslow has done with the U.S. War on drugs in his Border Trilogy spanning the United States, Mexico, and South America.
This story is unlike others alongside it in the military, spy, and espionage genre because Security Day is one of the few that provides an honest, raw, and authentic account of perspectives on varying sides of the conflict. Cricchio weaves together multiple perspectives seamlessly which quickens the book’s pace and heightens the mounting tension throughout.
Cricchio gives us a rich and vibrant portrayal of Americans and Afghans and the complicated connections and relationships they forge while navigating the ambiguity of a war zone where the bonds of family, friendship, love, and tradition are tried.
We’ve got an eager and somewhat arrogant American rookie Intelligence Agent who learns the hard way that the end doesn’t justify the means. An Afghan farmer turned American spy with deep familial ties to the Taliban who tries to do the right thing by his family in a morally ambiguous situation. An American Commander who wants to win at all costs and will stop at nothing for the sake of his vanity. And lastly, a vicious and mischievous Afghan General with his own agenda who’s willing to make great sacrifices for his own self-interest.
Security Day is a bold and unforgettable debut novel. It offers those courageous enough to read it a window into the war on terrorism, dubious partnerships, untrustworthy allies, formidable enemies, agreements and broken promises, competing agendas, self-interest, and vanity, and explores the themes of corruption, love, friendship, loyalty, betrayal, honor, tradition, mercy, and redemption.
“𝑫𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅. 𝑫𝒐 𝒂 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒋𝒐𝒃, 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔. 𝑫𝒐 𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒋𝒐𝒃 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒆. 𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒖𝒍𝒕, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆.”
This story is unlike others alongside it in the military, spy, and espionage genre because Security Day is one of the few that provides an honest, raw, and authentic account of perspectives on varying sides of the conflict. Cricchio weaves together multiple perspectives seamlessly which quickens the book’s pace and heightens the mounting tension throughout.
Cricchio gives us a rich and vibrant portrayal of Americans and Afghans and the complicated connections and relationships they forge while navigating the ambiguity of a war zone where the bonds of family, friendship, love, and tradition are tried.
We’ve got an eager and somewhat arrogant American rookie Intelligence Agent who learns the hard way that the end doesn’t justify the means. An Afghan farmer turned American spy with deep familial ties to the Taliban who tries to do the right thing by his family in a morally ambiguous situation. An American Commander who wants to win at all costs and will stop at nothing for the sake of his vanity. And lastly, a vicious and mischievous Afghan General with his own agenda who’s willing to make great sacrifices for his own self-interest.
Security Day is a bold and unforgettable debut novel. It offers those courageous enough to read it a window into the war on terrorism, dubious partnerships, untrustworthy allies, formidable enemies, agreements and broken promises, competing agendas, self-interest, and vanity, and explores the themes of corruption, love, friendship, loyalty, betrayal, honor, tradition, mercy, and redemption.
“𝑫𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅. 𝑫𝒐 𝒂 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒋𝒐𝒃, 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔. 𝑫𝒐 𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒋𝒐𝒃 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒆. 𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒖𝒍𝒕, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆.”
October 22, 2021
Matt Cricchio brings a soldier’s heart and a writer’s pen to the story of four men—two Afghans and two Americans—during the American war in Afghanistan. Security Day is as beautiful as it is unputdownable, and the ways Cricchio subverts the American war novel will forever change how you think about American conflict overseas. Cricchio’s prose guarantees him a place beside soldier-writers such as Elliot Ackermann and Kevin Powers, and helps us see that we’ve been reading and writing war novels all wrong. The story here is not about how war affects the lives of American men but how American men affect the lives of people who never asked for their help.
November 30, 2021
Non-stop action and high stakes all the way through - I dare you to try putting this book down once you start it. Matt Cricchio paints a gritty picture of the war in Afghanistan, made vibrant by the raw portrayals of those whose lives were affected by the war. Every character in this book felt tragically real to me - their fears, their loyalties, their motivations - and each of their stories is fascinating right up through the end. Everyone who reads this book will walk away learning something about the many facets of war and what motivates people to fight for what they love.
March 28, 2024
I highly recommend this book! The writing is superb, and I enjoyed seeing the story from various perspectives. Also fascinating was the inside look at the war in Afghanistan. Although fiction, I learned a lot from reading this book based somewhat on the author's actual time serving in Afghanistan.
February 20, 2022
A bit outside my normal genre but the blurb was good so I thought I would give it a go. The author served as a spy handler and interrogator with the Navy SEAL teams in Afghanistan and the story is loosely based on his experiences. The book is set in the Provence of Uruzgan in Afghanistan in the final months before American forces withdraw from the area. Well written with good characterisations this is a disturbing read.
Briefly, Security Day is the code name for a weekly convoy of food and supplies for the people of Uruzgan province. It is run by the Americans with security paid to and supplied by the local warlord, self styled General Mir Hamza Khan. The newly arrived US Intelligent agent Dan Bing arrives with a need to prove himself and very quickly finds himself running foul of his boss. Instead he turns to a local Toor Jan who is a relation of the devious General and connected with the Taliban.
The story unfolds amongst a complex tale of espionage, betrayal, mercy and personal vanity with everyone wanting to be on the winning side, no matter which side that is. To me the overriding thing I came away with from this book is the sense of hopelessness. Despite all the failings of living in the Western World we have no idea of the poverty and shocking lifestyles of the Afghans amidst a world of criminality and casual attitude to death whilst also struggling to understand the attitude of the American forces who were supposed to be their protectors. A very good and shocking read and considering the authors own experiences quite believable ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Briefly, Security Day is the code name for a weekly convoy of food and supplies for the people of Uruzgan province. It is run by the Americans with security paid to and supplied by the local warlord, self styled General Mir Hamza Khan. The newly arrived US Intelligent agent Dan Bing arrives with a need to prove himself and very quickly finds himself running foul of his boss. Instead he turns to a local Toor Jan who is a relation of the devious General and connected with the Taliban.
The story unfolds amongst a complex tale of espionage, betrayal, mercy and personal vanity with everyone wanting to be on the winning side, no matter which side that is. To me the overriding thing I came away with from this book is the sense of hopelessness. Despite all the failings of living in the Western World we have no idea of the poverty and shocking lifestyles of the Afghans amidst a world of criminality and casual attitude to death whilst also struggling to understand the attitude of the American forces who were supposed to be their protectors. A very good and shocking read and considering the authors own experiences quite believable ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
December 11, 2021
What an impressive read. Security Day takes the reader to the Uruzgan province in Afghanistan. On Security Day a warlord, General Mir Hamza Khan, helps transports of food and medicine to get to the people in Uruzgan safe from Taliban attacks. The Americans pay him handsomely for that service and he becomes the king of the land. Meet Toor Jan, a young man with a pregnant wife who just wants to provide food for his family and gets dragged into spying by a rookie American intelligence agent. He has no education. Just love for his family, a mentally handicapped brother and the wife. And his religion guiding his ways. And a powerful uncle, the head of the Taliban in the area. The paths of the men collide and unforeseen consequences will force their ways. No American heroes appear in this story, they're just invaders after all as the Russians before them. But the reader gets a realistic picture of the area from a writer who has been there. A fantastic read and I'm looking forward to future books by Matt Cricchio.
January 25, 2022
Great detail provided while still being easy to follow.
I came across this book simply by knowing the author from childhood. I’m not normally interested in spy/war novels but was very interested to hear his story.
I really appreciated the great detail provided on the characters and setting without being overwhelming or slowing the story down. The way the author braided the 3 main characters stories together kept me engaged the whole time.
I highly recommend this book for anybody interested in these types of novels or just trying to get a better feel for what occurs during war from multiple perspectives.
I came across this book simply by knowing the author from childhood. I’m not normally interested in spy/war novels but was very interested to hear his story.
I really appreciated the great detail provided on the characters and setting without being overwhelming or slowing the story down. The way the author braided the 3 main characters stories together kept me engaged the whole time.
I highly recommend this book for anybody interested in these types of novels or just trying to get a better feel for what occurs during war from multiple perspectives.
December 2, 2021
READ MY FULL REVIEW AT Best Thriller Books
Security Day puts you on the ground in the middle of the action to feel the desperate struggle for survival of all involved, providing a deeper understanding of what it must be like to make critical decisions when faced with nothing but difficult/bad options in a war zone.
Make sure to check out the full review
Security Day puts you on the ground in the middle of the action to feel the desperate struggle for survival of all involved, providing a deeper understanding of what it must be like to make critical decisions when faced with nothing but difficult/bad options in a war zone.
Make sure to check out the full review
July 14, 2022
Security Day was a great book, I enjoyed every minute of it. The immersion into Afghan life and culture was very nicely done, the characters were so well described that I really felt for them and their struggles, and I rooted for Dan the whole time. It was really hard, but I rooted for Toor Jan too 😂😂. That ending was just perfect! So realistic and just how I wanted it to end! Kind of...
Don’t even get me started on the tea drinking! Haha, such a good reminder of my brief time in the Middle East. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about our boys in Afghanistan. This isn’t the overdone infantry or shooting story that we’ve all read and have exhausted (don’t get me wrong, those are great too). This has a ton of political intrigue and backstabbing and wondering who you can and can’t trust.
Don’t even get me started on the tea drinking! Haha, such a good reminder of my brief time in the Middle East. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about our boys in Afghanistan. This isn’t the overdone infantry or shooting story that we’ve all read and have exhausted (don’t get me wrong, those are great too). This has a ton of political intrigue and backstabbing and wondering who you can and can’t trust.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews