This book is a rare breed indeed. An Australian spy novel highlighting the threat of Islamist extremism in a remote province of Indonesia: North Maluku. There are three things I usually like in a spy novel:
1. The writer has lived in the place they’re writing about.
2. A unique, offbeat location with an impeccable sense of place.
3. A good blend of cerebral tradecraft with bursts of action.

It’s safe to say that KINGDOM OF SPIES had all of that and more! It’s a compelling story told through various characters which intertwine and twist together to bring you into the rising threat of Islamic State inspired movements occurring in a far flung corner of Indonesian archipelago. But far from being a simple ‘Heroes v Villains’ story, Roberts handles the moral grey areas of espionage, politics, and religious extremism and blends it with believable characters who take you on a journey into the ‘War on Terror’ at Australia’s doorstep. The blend of slow burn espionage scenes with bursts of action worked well and I think would appeal to a wide array of spy fans. The character of Ana, an investigative journalist, was particularly intriguing as it reveals the complex events that sometimes are not seen in the news and can not always be conveyed in a simple newspaper article.

Having travelled several times to Indonesia, although not to North Maluku, I found the sense of place to be excellent with the politeness (using Pak and Mbak, for example) to be true, the humid heat, and the smell of tempe. As a linguist, I also enjoyed the peppering of Bahasa Indonesian which gave it an authentic feel. Overall, a remarkable debut by Bevan Roberts and a worthwhile edition to the world of spy novels.

Kingdom of Spies is a spy novel that has everything you can expect from a spy novel: spies, lies, explosions, betrayal, and more! However, I think that, above all, it has heart.

This book is vert well-researched. It's actually my first spy novel, and I can say I was not disappointed. I liked that it was action-packed from start to finish, so there really were no "boring" parts. I was hooked the entire time I read it. It was only a little hard for me to keep up with all the characters because the book kept switching from first to last names. Other than that, I really have nothing to say but that I'm looking forward to more! I learned quite a lot from this, too!

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me an arc in exchange for my honest review.

A memorable spy thriller loaded with intrigue and exotic locations.

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Action. Action. Action. Reading this novel felt like watching a Jason Statham movie, I was HOOKED from the first page. Well written, based in a truthfulness many don't even realize and all-around amazing book.

This is a book that takes place in the isolated Indonesian province of North Maluku. Like other spy thriller novelist, this location is a locale that I had never heard of before, but it seems the author has spent a considerable amount of time in Indonesia and had worked in the Australian Embassy. It's a tense thriller about Carter, an Australian-Indonesian spy, and freelance journalist Ana Kovacevic. Islamist radicals are trying to take over the area in the book and the book describes how Carter frequently gets into trouble because he doesn't exactly listen to his superiors. In this game of spies, states, religion, and betrayal, he betrays and is betrayed, and everyone is solely concerned with themselves. I look forward to the next books that Bevan writes. Readers of Brad Taylor, Brad Thor and Jack Carr will enjoy this novel. Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read the book early for an honest review.

Kingdom of Spies by Bevan G. Roberts

Dark, deep, deadly, and thought provoking look at what being a spy might entail. I tend to avoid books with religion of any kind, but this story called to me for several reasons. That the location is in the Malay Archipelago near where an expat friend lives, that it involves spies and the goal they are pursuing for their country, wanting to see how Islam-political Islam-is portrayed in this book since I have lived in a few countries where Islam is the predominant religion, and I enjoy reading new-to-me authors that might be worth supporting and then reading again.

What I liked:
* The topic, writing, plot, location, and pacing
* Carter: Indonesia-Australian, intelligence officer, dedicated to his job, intriguing, charismatic, manipulative, weaver of intricate webs, and human – would love to read more about him and wonder if this is a one-and-done- or the introduction to a series
* Ana: journalist, has history that pushes her to prove herself, willing to do what it takes to get the story, grows a lot in the story, would like to see more of her in the future
* The look into intelligence work and thinking about what it must require
* Seeing Carter with the men he works with…not always easy to read, though
* That the story made me think and care and feel I was there
* Feeling the emotions along with the characters, good and evil, as they experienced various situations
* Realizing, again, that government employees work for the interests of their own country and that doesn’t always mean they are there for the citizens in countries they work in.
* The real feel of the story
* That it was dark and grim, but that torture and death were not graphically shared with the reader but instead left to the imagination…mostly
* The twists and turns
* Wondering how close the backstop team for spies is and how able they are to assist when their personnel or assets are threatened
* That I could relate to so much in the story
* Being glad that I live my life but can escape into books to experience the lives of others
* All of it really except…

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Knowing that this book is all too real in more than one country in the world

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Aussie Spooks Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

I was excited to read this book, but it quickly became a slog to the finish. I love the geopolitical thriller genre, especially the ongoing threat of Islamic extremism, but my lack of knowledge of Indonesia, its cities and geographic areas, kept me bogged down. The plot and characters are interesting, but some streamlining needs to be done to make this book more reader friendly. I receive an ARC from NetGalley, and the opinions expressed are my own.

Kingdom of Spies by Bevan Roberts I read many espionage novels and am also in a Facebook site where we discuss and highlight new spy novels. One topic that frequently comes up is does anyone know any spy books that take place in Hungary or China or well any place but Berlin. So, I read this book with hopeful expectations that the writer and the setting in Indonesia would make for a compelling spy thriller. I was not let down. This is a good book with a story worthy of any place but does have the authenticity that it does take place in parts of Indonesia. Credit to Mr. Roberts who worked in the Australian Embassy in Indonesia for a while. The story is about Australian Government Intelligence agents attempting to keep a growing Islamic effort in a remote part of Indonesia from gaining a foot hold. Australia’s nearest neighbor to the North is Indonesia. The one difficulty I had with the book is my lack of familiarity with cities and locations in Indonesia. This maybe a bit of a frustrating point for others as well as the book moves to cities completely unknown to me. That is my only complaint. The story holds together, it moves at a brisk but reasonable pace and has an open but satisfying ending. I recommend this book but perhaps have a paper or electronic map open as well.

Terrorists threaten to turn an Indonesian province into an Islamic caliphate and threaten the national security of neighboring Australia in Kingdom Of Spies, an explosive thriller filled with violence of action and a tangled web of deception. A rousing debut by Bevan G. Roberts, bursting onto the scene with a compelling storyline that will open the eyes of Western Hemisphere readers to security concerns and operations in Southeast Asia.

Australian intelligence officer Jordan Carter is in Indonesia as part of a joint initiative between the two countries to fight Islamic extremism in North Maluku, mainly focused on keeping different factions fighting against each other rather than organize and become a bigger problem. Only now there’s a rising threat from the Islamic State that is a potential game changer. Which puts Jordan Carter on the offensive as his network and operations seem to be compromised. As he takes more and more risks, a journalist desperate for a big scoop inserts herself into the action and gets a story that’s more than she bargained for. With danger and corruption lurking around every corner, repelling the threat and surviving the action are no guarantee for anyone involved in this bubbling cauldron of violence.

There is one main aspect to Kingdom Of Spies that makes this novel stand out, namely it’s the first novel I’ve read that focuses exclusively on Southeast Asia. There are books that involve the region as a setting, sure, but this book is written from the perspective of Australian spies and journalists fighting an emerging threat in their backyard. There’s no Americans or Europeans involved at all. As such, it transcends simple entertainment by entering the realm of education, providing a glimpse into terrorist threats on the other side of the world and the resulting geopolitical alliances, challenges and ramifications. Which is a fascinating and an intriguing departure from the usual focal points of the genre that are promoted in this part of the world. Something a little different to thrill and excite fans of the genre.

They say write what you know, and Bevan G. Roberts has done just that, skillfully leveraging his prior defense and foreign affairs experience to craft an absorbing and informative thriller with memorable characters, complex state of affairs and vicious exploits. Kingdom Of Spies is one heck of a debut that has me excited to see what Mr. Roberts will come up with as an encore.