Review: The Valley

The Valley by John Renehan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had nightmares last night after finishing this book. At 2:07 am, I woke up standing next to my window with my heart pounding--no idea how or why I was there. Then an hour or so later, I woke up after having a dream where I was running blindly through woods with someone chasing me.

So, um, yeah, I say this is a very realistic mystery thriller novel set in Afghanistan.

Lt. Black is working a fifteen-six at COP Vega, at the heart of an Afghan valley close to the Pakastani border. It was just warning shots fired into the air, so he figures it'll be an easy write-up after interviewing the soldiers involved. The convoy only arrives on Sundays, so he thinks the week will be a break from living on the FOB.

(I really liked learning all the military jargon--yes, I'm a geek)

But the soldiers don't want to talk and he catches them lying. There have been many KIA at this outpost and the sergeants aren't helping. And so Black gets sucked into the mystery. He is great at digging into things, figuring things out, and, well, he does mess up occasionally.

Lots of shooting, soldiering, intrigue, and beautiful parts of Afghanistan. I'd love to hear from someone who served in Afghanistan to see how accurate this is--the author was Army infantry in Iraq, and it seems like he did his research.

My nightmares proved it.

I'm looking forward to the next book by this first-time novelist.

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