Terminal Deception by A.M. Khalifa, book cover

Coming soon

Terminal Deception

She is the most feared recruiter in Raqqa. She is also a British spy. And a stranger has just handed her a phone number that could get them both beheaded.

The Black List

What is Terminal Deception about?

Terminal Deception is an espionage thriller by A.M. Khalifa about Mehtab of Birmingham, a deep-cover British intelligence officer feared inside ISIS-held Raqqa as a ruthless recruiter of British jihadis.

Raqqa, 2017. To the young Britons she recruits, Mehtab is a commander. To British intelligence, she is an officer who has lived inside her legend for so long she no longer knows where it ends.

Then Angela Morgan, the American widow of a slain ISIS commander, presses a slip of paper into her hand: a US phone number, and a message. Tell whoever answers that Jellybean is alive.

In Raqqa, contacting the outside world is punishable by beheading. Mehtab runs. And in London she learns that the people she risked everything for have been lying to her for years: about Angela, about the war she helped wage, and about a stolen American weapon called Krieger that can kill thousands without leaving a trace.

From Raqqa to London, California and the Gulf, Terminal Deception is a thriller about loyalty, identity and what a lie costs the person who has to live inside it. And for readers of Terminal Rage: Alexander Blackwell returns, and so does another face from the first book.

You’ll love it if you like…

  • Deep-cover espionage
  • Tradecraft
  • MI6
  • A morally ambiguous heroine
  • Conspiracy
  • Divided loyalties

Readers of

Lauren Wilkinson’s American Spy · Karen Cleveland’s Need to Know · Homeland · Tehran

Praise

“The manuscript’s greatest strength is its immersive, high-stakes atmosphere and compelling central protagonist.”

The Black List

“Mehtab herself is a particularly strong asset: intelligent, adaptable, emotionally guarded, and capable in ways that would make for a standout lead role in adaptation.”

The Black List

“Strong adaptation potential due to its cinematic setting, morally ambiguous heroine, and serialized narrative possibilities.”

The Black List

Questions readers ask

What is Terminal Deception about?

Mehtab of Birmingham is a deep-cover British intelligence officer posing as a ruthless ISIS recruiter in Raqqa. When an American captive asks her to get a message to the outside world, a crime punishable by beheading, she uncovers a conspiracy reaching into British and American intelligence and a stolen weapon called Krieger.

Who is Mehtab?

At the heart of Terminal Deception: a British intelligence officer who has spent years undercover inside ISIS as Mehtab of Birmingham, feared as a recruiter of British jihadis. The Black List called her “intelligent, adaptable, emotionally guarded.”

Is Terminal Deception connected to Terminal Rage?

Yes. It stands on its own, and Alexander Blackwell returns, along with another familiar face from Terminal Rage.

Where is it set?

Raqqa in ISIS-held Syria, London, California and the Gulf, among other places.

What is it like?

The Black List compared it to the novels American Spy and Need to Know, and to the TV series Homeland and Tehran.

When is Terminal Deception out?

Coming soon. Join the newsletter to hear first, and to get the cover reveal.

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