The Bottom Line: A sophisticated terrorism thriller that lionizes investigative journalism while creating a series-worthy protagonist in Mathieu James. Fans of Terry Hayes and Alex Berenson will love Fults’ debut novel.
The Scotland Project opens in a barn in Wales, where a group of men sit playing cards amidst a formidable cache of rocket propelled grenades, automatic weapons, fertilizer and petrol. In 24 hours, their leader tells them, they will be martyrs.
Meanwhile in California, journalist Mathieu James is enjoying the extraordinary natural beauty of the Joshua Tree National Forest when his editor calls and utters a simple phrase: The Scotland Project. With that scene, we begin to understand that James is no ordinary journalist. James, an ex-Army Ranger and on-and-off CIA operative, also lost his parents in the 7/7/2005 London terrorist attack.
Within hours of receiving the communique, James is on his way to Scottsdale, Arizona, to meet a Swiss banker. While typically discreet, the banker promised to let James know if he saw something suspicious. It seems that two million Euros have been put into a fund that, in Francois’ words, “feels familiar.” Could an orchestrator of the 7/7 attack be planning something even bigger?
While The Scotland Project is unquestionably James’ story, and a very personal one at that, author Matthew Fults has surrounded him with an international cast of counterterrorism experts devoted to stopping the next big attack. Longtime associate CIA analyst Alyssa Stevens, who first noticed that James was often a step ahead of the agency, and MI5 veteran Conan MacGregor, leverage the substantial resources of their respective agencies to help James connect the dots and close the deal.
While her screen time is limited, the magical spark within Fults’ cast of characters is actually French journalist Ana-Marie Poulin, who has been pursuing a theory that a fifth 7/7 bomber existed. Recently, she learned of the existence of a person or group funneling money to sleeper cells in Europe, and as the book goes on, it’s clear that some people within her circle will kill to ensure the leak goes no further. The chemistry between Ana-Marie and James crackles despite the fact that most of the time, their interactions are entirely professional and often handled over messaging apps. Fults has given the intrepid journalist some of the book’s best professional conundrums as well as quips of unexpected dialogue, which send emotions bubbling up from the surface like bursts of hot lava.
Also simmering underneath an otherwise procedural veneer are James’ own motivations. As a journalist, he’s naturally wired to do whatever it takes to find the “fifth bomber.” But in the book’s final third, the possibility of confronting his parents’ killer and exacting revenge becomes palpable, leading to an incendiary, hugely satisfying finale in which James is utterly transformed.
