Title: The Moroccan Girl
Author: Charles Cumming
Publication Date: February 12th, 2019
Genre: Mystery and Thrillers
The Moroccan Girl is a story of romance and espionage. Christopher “Kit” Carradine is a renowned author who writes spy stories. When he’s approached by Robert Mantis – an MI6 agent who asks him to deliver a package to Lara Bartok and an envelope containing cash to Abdulla Aziz, Kit’s happiness knows no bounds. He dreams of being the next Somerset Maugham, Graham Green or Frederick Forsyth. But things take a turn for good when he meets Yassine and Hulse, and Kit’s services are no longer required. Kit opens the package he’s supposed to deliver to Bartok and finds a warning note.
Though disappointed that he’s of no help, Kit decides to find Lara and warn her of the dangers that she would face in the future.
Meanwhile, a group who call themselves Resurrection is creating havoc worldwide. From kidnapping to brutally murdering those who voice their opinion against them or the terrorists, Resurrection is notoriously famous. Kit finds out that Lara Bartok was once a part of Resurrection – she was Ivan Simakov’s girlfriend. Ivan was the founder of Resurrection and was brutally murdered while in Moscow. Kit is now afraid that Ivan’s girlfriend will also follow the same fate and wants to save her before it’s too late.
The Moroccan girl was unlike all the other spy stories that I have read so far. Since it is written from an author’s perspective, the story is more about how Kit played his role in the world of espionage. Not much of action or James Bond moments here but the story is pretty interesting.
The author has done an excellent job in maintaining the suspense till the end. Charles Cumming’s storytelling skills are excellent. The constant confusion of who’s who was mind-blowing. Double agents and the fight for power was well described in this book. The concept of Resurrection and their power brought about a sense of gore and fear. It was also a tad bit relatable to the current events.
Kit’s dedication to saving Lara was touching. His father’s role in the story was a nice twist. After being betrayed by a mentor/fellow agent, William Carradine could no longer continue working in the espionage business. This motivates Kit to prove that he can be a good spy. Even when Mantis asks Kit not to proceed, Kit is adamant. He does his best to show that he can survive in the espionage world.
Hulse played a very interesting part in the story. The ending was brilliant. The “resurrection” of Ivan was a nice twist. Overall, it was an enjoyable story. Not much of action or modern gadgets but a pretty good story. Speaking of modern gadgets, there are multiple references made to encrypted Whatsapp chats. A nice inclusion this, given that most of the emails and posts (of those under the list) are usually scanned for any kind of chatter.
I received this book from St. Martins Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
The Book Decoder 
I have this on my tbr, too. Glad you enjoyed it! Nice review! 😊😘
It’s a fun read, Dora. 🙂 Something different from the usual spy mysteries. Waiting to see what you think about this book. 🙂💗