The Geneva Option: A Yael Azoulay Novel

A gripping thriller of international espionage, The Geneva Option by Adam LeBor pits a sexy, young UN staffer against a brutal conspiracy to control Africa’s natural resources.
 
Yael Azoulay does the United Nations’ dirty work. Sent by the UN’s Secretary General to eastern Congo to negotiate with Jean-Pierre Hakizimani, a Hutu warlord wanted for genocide, she offers a deal: surrender to the UN tribunal, in exchange for a short sentence and a return to politics.
 
The plan is to bring stability to the region so the West can exploit the region’s mineral wealth. But Yael soon realizes that the UN is prepared to turn a blind eye to mass murder.
 
Yael finds herself on the run, hunted by the world’s intelligence and law enforcement agencies—and haunted by her past—ultimately learning that salvation means not just saving other’s lives but confronting her own inner demons.

Written by Adam LeBor, a high-profile foreign correspondent and critically acclaimed investigative journalist, The Geneva Option takes readers on a nonstop journey through the secret corridors of international power.

Yael Azoulay does the United Nations' dirty work by cutting deals that most of us never hear about. Equally at home in the caves of Afghanistan, the slums of Gaza, or corporate boardrooms all across the world, Yael believes the ends justify the means...until she's pushed way beyond her breaking point.

When Yael is assigned to eastern Congo to negotiate with Jean-Pierre Hakizimani, a Hutu warlord wanted for genocide, she offers him a generous plea bargain. Thanks to Congo's abundance of a valuable mineral used in computer and cell phone production, her number one priority is maintaining regional stability. But when she discovers that Hakizimani is linked to the death of the person she loved the most—and that the UN is prepared to sanction mass murder—Yael soon realizes that salvation means not just saving others' lives but confronting her own inner demons.

Spanning New York City, Africa, and Switzerland, The Geneva Option is the first in a series of gripping conspiracy thrillers, a tour de force of international espionage and intrigue.

“THE GENEVA OPTION is very good indeed. LeBor writes fiction with the scrupulous focus of the journalist, the foreign correspondent, so the world he creates is driven by the sharp edge of reality—by the raw, brutal politics, by the monsters and desperate heroes—of a war that seems to go on forever.” - Alan Furst, New York Times bestselling author of The Mission to Paris

“A gripping and atmospheric thriller from a great writer. Yael Azoulay is a character I’m looking forward to reading about again and again.” - Charles Cumming, New York Times bestselling author of The Trinity Six

“British journalist Lebor…introduces brilliant and beautiful Yael Azoulay, a behindthe-scenes negotiator for the United Nations, in his gripping debut thriller, the first in a trilogy… [T]hose looking for a strong heroine in the mold of Lisbeth Salander will be satisfied.” - Publishers Weekly

“This thriller’s prologue is a small masterpiece in showing how the seemingly banal–a worker taking a cigarette break on a balcony–can be upended into terror. The rest of the book fulfills the prologue’s promise, in ways completely credible and, thus, even scarier. Lebor, a British journalist who has covered the UN for the Times(London), brings an investigative reporter’s deep knowledge to cracks within the UN’s dealings…. scene after scene of heart-clutching suspense…Must reading.” - Booklist(starred review)

“This thriller’s prologue is a small masterpiece in showing how the seemingly banal–a worker taking a cigarette break on a balcony–can be upended into terror. The rest of the book fulfills the prologue’s promise…. [with] scene after scene of heart-clutching suspense…Must reading.” - Booklist(starred review)

“Adam LeBor masterfully weaves an international espionage thriller… Five Stars out of Five.” - Examiner

“A seditiously good read.” - Mark Malloch-Brown, former Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations