The plot is rather ingenious and this could have been a wonderful thriller. Unfortunately, the book is bloated in length due to the author's verbal diarrhea. When two or three adjectives would have sufficed, the author has to weave together six or eight. The plot could have been taut and exciting but the pace is marred by the incessant descriptions of every mundane detail, ad nauseam. If you want to read this book, save yourself hours and hours--just read the beginning through the kidnapping and the original visits to the police and the embassy. Then, skip to the last couple of chapters and the epilogue – that's more than enough!