OMAR ZAGOURI

       Omar Zagouri is an agent with the Israeli government.
       The department for which he works is the Preservation of Cultural Heritage and Ancient Artifacts. That would make his job sound like either a museum curator or a police detective and both would be accurate. To say that he was an undercover operative could be thought a stretch but since it happens a lot, probably not such a reach.
       I do not believe that Zagouri likes being undercover much because that entails being deceptive and duplicitous and Zagouri is above all else a darn good guy. He loves his country and he loves his heritage and he really loves the chance to work on behalf of both but to have to be sometimes less than honest about who he is and what he does goes against his grain.
       So do people who steal artifacts from his homeland and even more so when they use the proceeds to hurt his people so if it means stepping out of his comfort zone now and then, he does so. He just does not like it.
       Zagouri is good at his job, though, because he is good with people. He understands them, usually, except for Mia, his fellow operative and his major love interest. Her he often does not quite get but considering her background and what she has been through, is not hard to understand. Though the series revolves around Zagouri, Mia is such a major part to his adventures, she deserves special attention.
       The missions that Zagouri gets involved in are varied and all are quite interesting. Considering the fact that many of the items that provide the focal point for the assignments are routed in the past, their history is invariably fascinating and the reader is given a chance to follow that path until it lands at Zagouri's feet.

       There is and has been for several decades a fascinating sub-genre of adventure-cum-spy novels about archaelogists who get involved with international intrigue as the main character(s) learns about some ancient device and goes after while really bad people decide they need that device to take over the world. I thought this series was going to be like that and as much as I enjoy that type now and then, I have to be in the right mood.
       This is NOT that kind of book. Artifacts, yes. Bad guys, yes. So on and so on.
       But it is not that kind. As I said above, Zagouri is kind of a curator meets police detective. He is also a whole lot of fun to follow because he is so well developed as a character with flaws (more than a couple) and assets (way more than a couple) with family and friends and work mates, some he likes and some he doesn't. He becomes real and more importantly to a reader, someone interesting.
       My guess is there will be more adventures with Zagouri and, hopefully, Mia, and I will buy them.

My Grade: B+

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