Mustafa Al Natour is Iraq born, and living in Dubai since he was a child. He is a devout Muslim, and prays five times a day. Islam is his moral compass, and is the guiding light of his life. As a result, he sees the world in rich, black and white terms. And like the millions of other expats in the United Arab Emirates, he is a second class citizen living in one of the richest countries in the world. Mustafa has spent the last twenty years working his way up the ladder in the Dubai Police department. All of his hard work and sacrifice have awarded him the rank of Captain, and he is now in charge of the Serious Crimes Division in the Dubai Police Department. His love and belief in Islam, goes hand in hand, with his quest to find criminals.
"The Deadly Game of Chess" follows Captain Mustafa as he investigates the murder of Sir Robert Ambrose, the British ambassador to the U.A.E. The murder, perpetrated by an Indian construction laborer, is an obviously open and shut case of a robbery gone bad. No one likes murders in Dubai, not the politicians, not the media, and not the thousands of rich tourists who come to the Emirates to enjoy the sun and luxurious night life. Mustafa is under extreme political pressure to quickly find the Indian and put this high profile case to bed. Then, out of the blue, Captain Mustafa is assigned Ms. Fatima Al Thani, a young and inexperienced police Lieutenant to his team. And to make matters worse, she is a member of the royal Al Thani family. The last thing Mustafa needs is a spoiled rich princess to get in the way of finding the killer of a British diplomat.
Evidence leads Mustafa and Lieutenant Al Thani to Sir Jeffery Hines, the assistant to Sir Robert Ambrose. Their meeting in Sir Hine's swank penthouse raises uncomfortable questions with Mustafa, who then decides there is more to the murder than he first suspected. Dubai of 2020 is filled with the very rich, and very powerful foreigners from around the world. It is a world Mustafa understands only superficially. As a result, Mustafa begins to realize Lieutenant Al Thani's value to his homicide team is not in her police training, but from being the globe trotting party girl from the royal family. And with each passing day, Mustafa sends Al Thani undercover in Dubai's bars, and dance clubs to find the accomplices of the killer. Reluctantly, she becomes Mustafa's bait he uses to catch the ambassador's killer.
This is one game of chess Mustafa can not afford to lose. If he loses, he and all of his team may die, or worse yet, thousands more could die.
Captain Mustafa, The deadly game of chess is about a devout and moral Muslim, struggling to cope with living in a morally corrupt and decadent city. It is a story of a simple man, holding onto his faith, while faced with the cultural drift the entire Arab world is undergoing.
Available on Amazon for purchase. click book jacket for link.
