Behind the Trigger

Behind the Trigger, is a spy novel written by an Israeli novelist and a former intelligence officer under the pseudonym Yariv Imbar.

Developed as a psychological thriller the tension and suspense starts immediately on page one and continues to build as the story develops. Your heart will start beating faster as Irit, a skilled Mossad agent, wife and mother does not follow protocol during an espionage operation.  Irit loves her job going on overt missions, this time to set up a listening devise in a hotel room to spy on the conversations of a senior Syrian security figure.  Making a split second decision that brings her face to face with the target's wife changes the course of both their lives.

Fiercely dedicated to her job and trying to balance life at home with her husband and children she is being asked to leave her comfort zone and take on a dangerous assignment.  Irit befriends Noor, the wife of the senior Syrian weapons engineer who Mossad has been tracking.  Mossad takes advantage of the women's budding friendship to recruit Noor to help them track her husband. 

The plot engages the reader in the lives of Noor and Irit.  Noor is caught in an abusive marriage, struggling with shame and the loss of multiple pregnancies.  She is in need of a friend.  Irit is recruited to fill that role to achieve their mission, but finds that she becomes more involved than just as an agent.  The relationship becomes personal as Irit begins to face her own demons, memories of her own past emotional pain, resentments and secrets.  As the women become closer the danger becomes more real.  Noor setting up her husband for the Mossad and Irit putting her own life in jeopardy.  

On the surface this is a powerful thriller, highlighting the work of special forces,  surveillance techniques and the risks involved.  Under the surface it examines psychological feelings and fears.  Looking at women and their marriages. Each feeling inadequate in their lives, looking for validation and acceptance. The life of a woman in the Israeli secret service, balancing family and career.  The life of a woman and their personal feelings of value in the face of motherhood, controlling men taking advantage of abusive power.

The characters are well developed and the reader will be drawn in with compassion and fear for the women and anger at the men. Exploring the themes of friendship and love. What makes a marriage work and what are the risks to keeping a marriage together?  How far a person will go to save another.  How long a person can bury their own trauma or personal history before it affects their current life. This is a very satisfying story.