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Andrew Turpin
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The Afghan (A Joe Johnson Thriller, Book 0) Kindle Edition

by Andrew Turpin (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 704 ratings
See all formats and editions
A Cold War attack by Soviet helicopters on an Afghan village. A knife-edge CIA operation that goes wrong. And a vengeful mujahideen tribesman, armed with Stinger missiles.

When CIA officer Joe Johnson is handed the tough task by his boss of capturing a Soviet helicopter and forging better contacts among the mujahideen, he unknowingly finds himself up against a sinister KGB rival who wants him dead.

But after coming under fire, Johnson comes to suspect that his difficulties stem not just from the Soviets—but from a traitor on his own side.

To extricate himself from the web of deceit in which he finds himself, Johnson comes to rely on a female colleague from Britain’s MI6, Jayne Robinson, to whom he grows unexpectedly close.

As pressure mounts on Johnson from CIA headquarters at Langley and politicians in Washington, DC, the story reaches a climax during a life-or-death shootout in Jalalabad.

The Afghan, set in 1988, is an espionage thriller that forms a compelling prequel to the Joe Johnson series as a whole. It also creates the backdrop for book four in the series, Stalin’s Final Sting, set in Afghanistan, New York City, and Moscow in the present day. Meet Joe Johnson today and read how he uncovers dark secrets.

**If you buy The Last Nazi, book 1 in the Joe Johnson series, you will find a link inside the book allowing a COMPLIMENTARY download of The Afghan**

AMAZON REVIEWERS ON THE JOE JOHNSON SERIES:
★★★★★ “Every bit a match for Lee Child and Tom Clancy.”
★★★★★ “A great read, has more twists than a country road.”
★★★★★ “Right up there with Silva/Allon.”
★★★★★ “More than a touch of Forsyth.”
★★★★★ “Far better than Ludlum.”
★★★★★ “If you enjoy the work of Vince Flynn and Nelson DeMille, you’ll be happy to discover Andrew Turpin.”
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  1. Print length
    212 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    January 15, 2019
  5. File size
    5297 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Amazon reviewers on the Joe Johnson series:

"Every bit a match for Lee Child and Tom Clancy."

"A great read, has more twists than a country road."

"Right up there with Silva/Allon."

"More than a touch of Forsyth."

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07MV7B1SX
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Write Direction Publishing (January 15, 2019)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 15, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5297 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 212 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 704 ratings

About the author

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Andrew Turpin

Andrew Turpin

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DARK TRUTHS UNCOVERED: SPY CONSPIRACY THRILLERS

Andrew is a former journalist who has always had a love of writing, current affairs, history, and good novels.

His first book in the Joe Johnson spy conspiracy series, The Last Nazi, was published in August 2017, and hit the Amazon top 50 in the US and UK, as well as number one rankings in individual categories.

There are now seven books in the Johnson series. The others are: The Old Bridge, Bandit Country, Stalin's Final Sting, The Nazi's Son, and The Black Sea, plus a prequel, The Afghan.

Joe Johnson is an ex-CIA officer and former U.S. Nazi hunter with the Office of Special Investigations, part of the Department of Justice.

Andrew has also launched a second series, beginning with The Kremlin’s Vote, featuring former British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) operative Jayne Robinson, now a freelance who also carries out deniable operations for the CIA.

Andrew lives with his family in St. Albans in Hertfordshire, U.K.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
704 global ratings
Before Charlie Wilsons War in Afghanistan was Joe Johnson.
5 Stars
Before Charlie Wilsons War in Afghanistan was Joe Johnson.
Joe Johnson is the strong 'get it done' kind of CIA operative that encourages heroes. Sadly like so many other action figures he is taken advantage of by corrupt or ineffective leaders that are self serving and spineless.The action is tense and nail bitingly good as Joe meets Jayne for romance. The Cold War with the Russians gets ramped up with the Russian helicopters being shot out of the sky and excursions into Afghanistan by the CIA to help get the Russians out of the country.I loved this book, its character development, story line and believability. The photo is of a Russian Tank near Bala Hissar, Kabul.
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Top reviews from the United States

Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great background for succeeding books in this series
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2019
Verified Purchase
The description of locations in Afghanistan are useful, I found the character development to be lacking and possibly an afterthought on the part of the author. However, reading this before the other books is a good idea.
Joe Johnson seems to meet too many females who are enamored with him, especially at his age. I've overlooked this as I've continued to read the series however. All in all, I've enjoyed reading them.
3 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2022
I enjoyed the book very much .It held my interest all the way through. I plan on reading more of Andrew Turpin books.
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Kevin McPadden
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating reading especially in light of the recent pullout of the US.
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2021
Verified Purchase
Fascinating reading and background especially in light of the recent pullout from Afghanistan by the US. I look forward to reading some of the recommendations by Andrew
2 people found this helpful
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MasterI-Gray
3.0 out of 5 stars JOE IS TRYING
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2021
I enjoy the reading. This book can be read fast and Joe is a simple character but not bad.

The Afghan works around the CIA undercover work and the author throw a traitor in the mix. As a 1st book leaves a lot out, characters and situations so, i assume that in the others books will find some answers.

The characters are a little disperse and the story needs more work but, enjoyable.

I received this book for free and I choose to review
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Julie Garcia
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book that I couldn’t put down
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2019
Verified Purchase
Andrew Turpin has now become one of my favorite authors. After stumbling upon this book by accident, I read it in 2 days. The characters are interesting and well developed. The constant twists and turns will keep you wanting more. I can’t wait to start the second book in this series.
2 people found this helpful
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Philip Petley
5.0 out of 5 stars The Afghan.......A page turning thriller.
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2019
Verified Purchase
I enjoy reading books about police work such as those written by Michael Connelly. His books are realistic and page turners.
Andrew Turpin books are now on my list of must read.
The Afghan is a realistic read of CIA work.
2 people found this helpful
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HJB, South Africa.
5.0 out of 5 stars What a read!!
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2020
Verified Purchase
Fast nonstop action of the authentic type. This was a really enjoyable read. I will see where the following stories are as enjoyable.
One person found this helpful
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John Hunter
5.0 out of 5 stars Adds necessary details for the books that follow.
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2020
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed the novel. I read another book in the series first. I will not repeat that mistake.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Joëlle F
4.0 out of 5 stars Travel in the past
Reviewed in France on April 11, 2021
Verified Purchase
Fiction is the best way to revisit contemporary history and improve my English. Thank you for the trip Andrew Turpin.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Clean
Reviewed in India on November 22, 2020
Verified Purchase
Unlike Tom Clancy styled fictions (which have multidimensional subplots and heavy technical descriptions of military hardware), this title by Andrew Turpin has a one dimension plot presented in an interesting way with minimal military jargon. Looking forward for the next installment "The Last Nazi".
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Amazon Customer
2.0 out of 5 stars This book gives good background info .
Reviewed in Germany on October 28, 2020
Verified Purchase
It's the first of Joe Johnson books .I've read it twice and it's helpful if you read this one first before the rest of the series.
A quick read for along journey. "GOOD"
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Walter Scott
5.0 out of 5 stars Solid story-telling and a very human protagonist
Reviewed in Canada on February 6, 2019
Verified Purchase
After turning out three very different and full length and well-researched Joe Johnson novels, Andrew Turpin has written a prequel to the three, as an introduction to the fourth Joe Johnson novel – Stalin’s Final Sting.
The Afghan is written with the same integrity as those first Joe Johnson novels. Like his previous work, The Afghan contains a well-presented Research and Bibliography section at the end. Turpin’s insightful use of the material he employed for the setting and events of the story comes through clearly. The Afghan blends suspense, interesting characters, and action that keeps it real. No Jason Bourne or James Bond blurry and superhuman explosions of mayhem. Joe Jackson is an often conflicted man with a strong moral compass, and as a beer commercial in Canada goes, (with one substituted pronoun) – “Those who like him, like him a lot.”
My working copy for The Afghan was a free download, but I voluntarily purchased a copy in the hope that Amazon will consider this review a legitimate one based on the investment by this reviewer.
I have also purchased Stalin’s Final Sting, with the full confidence that I will also “like it a lot”.
One person found this helpful
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David Holroyd-Doveton
5.0 out of 5 stars What a brilliant author
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 4, 2019
Verified Purchase
I have now read all of Andrew Turpin’s books and have enjoyed them immensely. Andrew has a brilliant style of writing that makes the reader not want to put the book down. If you like books based on factual backgrounds, with real life characters, fast moving and enjoyable to read then Andrews books are fo you.
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