I Am Pilgrim – Terry Hayes

The man with the code name Pilgrim, Scott Murdoch to use one of his better names, is a one-time ace undercover agent for a branch of the US state security that polices, among others, the CIA. As the cold war gave way to the war on terror, he quit the service and penned, under a pseudonym, a seminal text book on investigative technique that, while not being a best seller, was admired by his peers.

The publication also had a couple of unwanted consequences. First a New York detective, Ben Bradley, recuperating from his experiences on 9/11, reads it and as a therapeutic exercise tracks down not only the author’s real identity but his location too – quite a shock for Scott Murdoch who thought his current cover was impenetrable.

But Ben is a good guy, a hero, so becomes a trusted friend, who calls on Murdoch’s expertise in particularly interesting or tricky cases. One such case – at the Eastside Inn – gives rise to the second consequence. A murder has been committed and the techniques in his text book have been used to remove nearly all evidence. All that can be retrieved is a fragment of a phone number and a library ticket, used once to borrow that book.

In parallel to that of the Pilgrim we get the story of the Saracen (a name subsequently bestowed by Murdoch). Born in Saudi; his radicalisation supercharged by the unjust execution of his father, he goes to Afghanistan to sign up and fight as a mujahedeen, and to learn from experience that ultimate victory against the enemy could only come from a lethal strike at the heart of America.

So his long game plan begins, which if it comes to fruition spells death and destruction in the US on an unimaginable scale. It is only late in the day that a scrap of intelligence alerts the powers that be, who then haul Scott Murdoch in from retirement as the only man for the job – as Pilgrim.

Over 900 pages the various stories play out: Murdoch’s theories on the Eastside Inn murder; his back story as an agent and his new mission as Pilgrim; and Saracen’s obsession, ruthlessly pursued, to destroy the western hegemony over his native region. Inevitably the strands converge, intertwine and crash towards a climax.

Though lengthy, the prose is pacey, fortunately leaving little time to ponder credibility. Action, tension and ingenuity abound; though worryingly the quest to save the west seems to hinge mainly on coincidences to give Pilgrim his breaks.

Of its type it is good, very good.