The Conspiracy

Reading this story after 9/11 makes you believe that this kind of standoff could happen. But also make you thing how short the imagination of a person could be compared with reality. In the other hand as you can see in the reviews before 9/11/2001 people didn't believe this story as real. The book is a little heavy in some parts but you won't be able to put it down till you finish it. In the book we can see JC's good imagination but very bad omen.

This is the first book I've read by Cresswell and I will definately be looking her up again. This political thriller with a subplot of romance had me interested from the beginning.Verity, who has been binge drinking since the dead of her husband, is shocked out of her self-piting self-destruction when she sees the ghost of her dead husband on New Year's Eve. When her boss appears on her doorstep announcing an emergency has arisen and she needs to return to her job with the State Department immediately, its a good thing she's been sober for several days.As an expert on Kashmir, Verity is called off her personal leave of absense to try to difuse a tense situation between India and Kashmiri freedom fighters. As the sitution develops, Verity must also uncover the traitor in the US government who's instigating the current strife.Overall, this was a good read and I'd recommend it to anyone.

This was the first of Cresswell's books that I actually liked. The plot is interesting especially in light of today's terrorist activities and it's well crafted and rolls at a good pace. However, the main characters fall in love without much pretext. Yes, they've known each other for a long time and yes, they've kissed and noticed an attraction, but they go from finally getting together after three years of avoidance to a hastily crafted sex scene. I didn't feel much of a connection to Verity once she became sober. Michael had about as much emotion as a stick. The use of a ghost works when he first appears, but then it becomes obvious that he's just there to shove the book along. You read his words and think - oh, please, give me a break. At times the dialogue was stilted and strained and there was a great deal of 'telling' and narration that slowed it down. But all in all, thanks to the interesting plot, it was a good read.

Best-selling author Jasmine Cresswell has created another suspenseful thriller complete with an American traitor brokering arms to terrorists. U.S. State Department employee Verity Marlowe has spent the past six months wallowing in self-pity and neglect as well as establishing an ongoing relationship with a bottle of vodka. After her husband Sam's death, Verity began an onward spiral of neglect until the ghost-like appearance of her husband Sam. Though apparitions are rather unconventional in romantic suspense, Sam adds a lighter touch enabling Verity to pull her life back together again. ... Though the discussion of terrorists and middle-eastern politics seems a little too detailed at times, it is a necessity in forming the foundation on which this novel is built. Further enhancing the element of mystery are the discussions that Michael and Verity have as they piece together the puzzle of the traitor's identity and try to discover the motives behind the crimes committed. For a truly gripping tale of espionage and mystery that just doesn't quit, THE CONSPIRACY is a certain winner.

Following the death of her husband, George Washington English Lit Professor Sam Marlowe, Verity fell apart. She has taken a sabbatical from her job as a State Department analyst that has lasted six months and uses vodka to forget her grief. Her superiors believe that Verity, once one of their best employees is now a high security risk. Still her boss Dick Pedro informs Verity that she has been chosen to work a situation in her specialty, the India-Pakistan desk. Apparently deep cover operative Michael Straight has learned that a new player in the area, the Kashmir Freedom Party, has been receiving weapons with the help of someone in the State Department. Verity is to meet her childhood friend Kahlid Mohammed who will only tell her insider information but he is assassinated before the information is exchanged. With only Michael to depend on, Verity tries to get out alive while insuring hundreds maybe thousands do not die in a terrorist cause. Fans who enjoy an exciting romantic international thriller that never slows down once Jasmine Cresswell takes her audience to Asia will want to read THE CONSPIRACY. The story line is loaded with action that provides an engaging look into life in battle scarred Kashmir. Verity is a heroine struggling with the death of her husband and her feelings towards Michael that adds guilt to her grief, but the romance though warm takes a back seat to the suspense and tour of this part of the world. Sub-genre fans will fully relish that wild ride that feels so genuine with all the news of the India-Pakistan dispute, especially over Kashmir.Harriet Klausner