Customer Reviews

The Chameleon Conspiracy (Dan Gordon Intelligence Thrillers)

Like many people, I like reading a good "who dunnit" mystery story. When I first started the book, I wasn't sure that I was going to like this book - by the time I got into the second chapter, I was captivated! I didn't want to put the book down, I stayed up late just to read it and I put off production to get through this book.

This story takes you on a trip to many different countries, describes the different cultures so that you feel as if you are there and has many near escapes that will keep you turning the pages. In this story, the author gives you intrigue, unexpected plot twists and turns, and such a very real picture that you wonder at times if this is truly fact or is it really just fiction.

Dan Gorden, the main character, is very good at reviewing evidence and finding information that was overlooked by others. When he takes on the Chameleon Case, it had stumped international law enforcement for twenty years. His ability to zoom in on the points that had been missed by others leads him to more information which leads him into some very rough times. Seems he also has a knack for getting himself out of the tight binds he finds himself in - with the help of many friends along the way.

Does he live through his escapades? Does he help to solve the case? Well, you are going to have to read this wonderful page turning book to find out!

This is a fast paced story from start to finish.

It is a globe trotting story although most of it is set in the U.S. and Iran. Dan Gordon is a Justice Department investigator who is looking into financial crimes allegedly perpetrated by the 'Chameleon', a mysterious figure who has stolen millions of dollars while portraying himself as a variety of different people.

Much of the investigation ends up being focused on Iran where Gordon faces enormous barriers in his search for the malefactor. It contains lots of very interesting cultural insights of the nation upended by the 1979 revolution and the enormous changes resulting from that. This part is so interesting that the book would be pretty good even without the thriller elements, although it has plenty of those as well.

I have not read any previous books by Haggai Carmon, but I certainly intend to do so. This is very well done and this writer is one who should get lots more attention.

The Chamelon Conspiracy is another welcome addition to Haggai Carmon's growing list of Dan Gordon adventures. It makes for excellent reading and when reading it I keep seeing Tom Cruise doing the lead role in a Dan Gordon movie...

The plot could not be more appropriate for our times and wnen reading you keep asking yourself on many sub-plots - are they only a figment of the author's imgination or were they real? More than that, bearing in mind when the book was written, there are some uncanny descriptions of scenarios yet to come. See just these two:

p.18-19: "... The promised rate of 14% gave a significantly higher yield than the interest paid by the usual securities... when customers wanted to liquidate their holdings, Ward's company promptly paid the bank, which in turn credited the customer's accounts... The end was inevitable. The bank became insolvent ans was seized by regulators." - Shades of Bernie Madoff!

p.284: " Neyshabur is also the ultrasecret future birthplace of the Iranian nuclear bomb..." " I read someplace that their plant is in Natanz." " Natanz is for the UN inspectors to visit, Neyshabur is the real plant.It is built 500 feet deep into the ground." - Who needs the CIA & the Mossad? Carmon seems to know everything...

So read it and enjoy it.

I've discovered that I really enjoy political/government thrillers, thanks to Jack Bauer & 24, as well as Vince Flynn. I definitely was not disappointed with The Chameleon Conspiracy, though let me tell you the story is almost overwhelming!

Haggai Carmon clearly knows his stuff, as the book is filled with so much detail with regards to the government, its agencies, and covert operations. Actually, I think I have a whole new respect for agents who go undercover after reading this book. There are many intense scenes that made me wonder how anyone can successfully assume a new identity--let alone have to do that all the time for their job. Even Dan Gordon commented once about keeping all of his identities straight--he dreaded running into someone he might have met from a previous case because he doubted he would know what name he had given them. To tell you the truth, I couldn't tell you how many different aliases he had in this one book!

If you enjoy thrillers, particularly anything involving terrorism and state relations, then I definitely recommend this book. I will say that at times I got bogged down in all the detail--sometimes the writing was a little too dry or informational to pull me into the story. But overall, I enjoyed it and was glad to have this opportunity to discover a new-to-me author. The Chameleon Conspiracy is the third Dan Gordon Intelligence Thriller, so I have a feeling I'll be checking out the first two, as well.

This is one of the most boring books I've read in a long time. i finished it only out of idle curiosity. It may well be closer to the reality of clandestine work, but there was really no suspense or excitement to the story.

This book is a taxing read. Every time I put it down, it took all my willpower to pick it up again. It's not that the author didn't put enough care or interest in the writing, but that the author seems unaware that his intended audience doesn't come from a hard core intelligence background. Just because something is accurate doesn't make it interesting.

Dan Gordon, ex-Mossad, now tracks international financial crime for the U.S. Department of Justice. A serial swindler displays uncomfortably close ties to the Middle East, and may have funneled millions into al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. So he calls up his old espionage contacts and dives into Iran briefcase-first.

Haggai Carmon brings massive experience in international law and intelligence to this novel. An introduction by CIA veteran Andre de Gallo asserts that this is one of the most accurate reflections of international intelligence ever written. Sadly, this accuracy is presented as tedious, opaque, and lacking in the human touch.

I have no doubt that most intelligence agents are paperwork mavens who run numbers and never draw a gun. I have no doubt that much international finance is handled by minute attention to detail. But I have plenty of doubt how that work is done, doubt that is not dispelled by this book's long, prolix exposition.

Audiences like action because violence is comprehensible in a way that careful intelligence work is not. But even when Carmon lets that sort of thing into the story, he treats it with apparent distaste. An abduction attempt in Islamabad is treated so cursorily, for instance, that when it's mentioned for the second time, I'd forgotten it had happened.

A writing teacher told me that the truth of a story does not excuse lousy storytelling. Somebody might tell Haggai Carmon this. Every detail of intelligence drudgery doesn't belong between the covers. Dan Gordon appears more interested in numbers than the people they represent. This book is vague, distant, and unlikely to interest most thriller readers.

"...World War III has already begun. It's the terrorists against the rest of the world." (p.117)

Haggai Carmon's The Chameleon Conspiracy is the real thing! By that, I mean that you can readily tell that Carmon has the background knowledge and experience to write this tale of intrigue. Sharing both the slow gathering of information as well as the many false leads lends added realism to a story in which many of us could star--as a victim!

For you see, young men who have left the United States, for vacation or business, have their identities stolen. They are killed and someone takes their place to come back into the States! Is it one man, or many?

At the same time, there are a number of major financial scams across America and the Department of Justice has been brought in to try to follow and recover the money.

Dan Gordon, an attorney was trained by the Mossad, with the Justice Department, and is working with the CIA, FBI, and the Mossad as he travels the world looking for who he believes is one man, who has taken the various identities and handled the various thefts. Gordon dubbed him The Chameleon...

Following the trail of money is not easy, especially when an American is helping the foreign groups! Gordon doesn't find it strange to discover that a bank officer of one of the small banks that had lost millions now has his own New York City business. Name changes, aliases, identity thefts are all part of this investigation.

It was not surprising that tracking the money resulted in discovering it was being provided and used by terrorist groups. What is interesting though was that those involved had been trained so well at an American university that their language skills were perfect and the knowledge they gained provided sufficient expertise to be able to infiltrate and work in America. Going undercover, Gordon takes on the role of a writer, wanting to find his roots, and hires a graduate of the university to assist him. One method of gaining information was to host a reunion of graduates, since the school had been closed many years ago. But Gordon's cover is blown and leads to major problems since a high-level intelligence agent wanted to defect and met with Gordon to determine if he could help him escape.

And then it was discovered that terrorist members were running counterfeiting activities!

All in all this was a good solid read, rather slow-paced, but with many twists and turns as new events and discoveries are made, that keeps high reader interest and involvement. I think I most was impressed by the coordinating efforts of the various groups involved--a nice change since many writers choose to highlight territorial issues among security agencies, which are intended to cause more intensity. Gordon's being able to meet and have an old friend from the Mossad help him was just one of the relationships between characters that made the book not only more believable but more interesting, intriguing, and a nice change of pace.

This is a different side of the "terrorist" issue--the money issue that is oftentimes much more explosive and realistic than bombing and intensive action books. I highly recommend The Chameleon Conspiracy by Haggai Carmon for those interested in today's alternative fiction novels!

G. A. Bixler

An international thriller with a great pace . Thoroughly researched and keeps one guessing throughout . No stopping the combination of action and intrigue .

Couldn't put it down! Although fiction, you get the real sense that this is happening in our world. Complicated plot but keeps you rooted to the page.

Very well written Thriller that keeps you turning pages. It has all the spy intricate action as if it is normal life in a crazy society whose main goal is destruction of modern civilization as we know it.