I read a lot of crime and spy fiction, usually series. I read Dan Fesperman’s stand-alone novel, “Layover in Dubai”, (LD) for three reasons – I had just read some very favorable comments about Dan while scanning a review of another author’s work, the Amazon readers’ reviews were well over a 4.0, and I wanted to learn more about Dubai. In my occasional flights to and fro India, I often have a brief layover in Dubai, Doha and other exotic places, but have never ventured beyond the airports. After reading this book I’m thinking “good decision”.

There is plenty of local flavor in LD; it’s clear the author speaks from personal experiences and observations. There is a lot about the incredible wealth, the towering office buildings, the extravagant malls. But there is also a good deal about local customs, and not only women’s rights in public, but at home as well. Dan also touches on the very stunning demographics of the Dubai residents, including the native birth of clusters of its police force. And the incredible wealth, and the incredible cars, speeds, crashes, jams. And then there’s the seamier side as well, human trafficking for example., a key plot point of LD.

Our hero, Sam Keller, is a bit of a rising star at his NYC-based pharmaceutical corporation. He is tasked with accompanying one of the company’s more senior reps on a trip to the Middle East, in large part to keep the gentleman from misbehaving; it is to be a quick trip, a layover of sorts. But Sam is in Dubai for only hours before being pursued by police Lt. Assad for the murder of his companion. Sam is rescued, temporarily by Sharaf, another police officer and opponent of Assad. Sharaf puts Sam up at his home for one night where Sam gets a taste of Dubai home life, but not of Sharaf’s stunningly attractive and capable 25 year old daughter. And he crosses paths with Mama, Amina.

The story is well written, fast-paced, well plotted, and has interesting characters; it gave me everything in the way of local color that I was hoping for. It includes a fight to the death atop a tower under construction on the edge of an elevator shaft. And a very good climax and good ending. I will read more of Dan’s works, and will get “The Letter Writer” in the near future, and likely “Safe Houses” and “The Arms Maker of Berlin” afterwords. ( )

Not one of Fesperman's better books. It is a quick, enjoyable read, and he does a great job of using Dubai as a character, but it is rather superficial story (with some wildly implausible parts). ( )

This story is set in Dubai, a land of huge wealth and a real estate bubble about to burst. It shows corruption and collusion between large corporations, the global mafia and officials on the take. The story itself is a pretty humdrum thriller. The setting is fascinating. I have to assume that the kinds of activities described actually occur. ( )

"Layover in Dubai" took me to a place I've never been - the Persian Gulf Emirate of Dubai, with its ostentatious building programs, conspicuous consumption, and private flouting of Sharia; the exploitation of foreign workers building the new Dubai; its poverty, strivers, and corruption; the conflict between citified Emeraties and Bedouins; the miles and miles of miles and miles. The protagonists are an honest (more or less) police inspector and an American accountant for an multinational American pharmaceutical company who get caught up in a Russian-operated, American-backed white slavery ring. but, this is really the story of two women. Nanette Weaver, security chief for the pharmaceutical firm, dealing with and reacting to the limitations on women in a man's business world; and Laleh, the daughter of an Emerati police inspector, an independent young entrepreneur, chafing against the restrictions placed upon her not only by her protective father but also a conservative society's view of a woman's role. I'd read and enjoyed author Dan Fesperman's "The Arms Maker of Berlin," and this novel as well. Time to dig into more of his backlist. ( )

A fun caper in which an innocent and rather risk-resistant auditor is told to babysit an errant pharmaceutical employee in the boom town of Dubai. When the employee is murdered, he's caught up in a shadowy conspiracy, with only a local policeman (and his daughter) on his side. Fesperman does a good job creating characters you care about in a fascinating setting.