A gripping tale of global terror (Book Review)

Title: Desert Hunt; Author: K.S.R. Menon; Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; Pages: 241; Price: Not listed

Dubai, the most liberal oasis in the Gulf, comes alive as journalist-writer K.S.R. Menon weaves a gripping tale of an Al Qaeda attempt to procure a suitcase nuke from a renegade Pakistani spy working in tandem with a supposed A.Q. Khan. The Indian intelligence, with eyes and ears in Kabul and along the Afghan-Pakistan border, provides valuable inputs that trigger a key Hamas operative's assassination by Israeli agents in Dubai. With the Indian and American intelligence playing a key role, security agencies in Dubai foil - at the very eleventh hour -- a spectacular suicide attack to avenge the Hamas man's murder and also to divert attention from the carefully planned nuke deal. The fitting climax sees a senior wounded Al Qaeda leader being smuggled by sea into Dubai with help from a Pakistan-based Indian don (read Dawood Ibrahim). Can they return to Pakistan safely?

The 16 years Menon spent in Dubai working for the Indian media has obviously made him a master of its topography. The reader is transported to Dubai - its iconic landmarks, the coast and the numerous streets - as the various characters, primarily from the UAE and Pakistan, weave in and out of the gripping, suspense-filled work of fiction.

"Desert Hunt", Menon's first book, has all the ingredients for a fast-paced film.