Author: Michael Niemann

Publisher: Coffeetown Press

ISBN: 978-1-60381-454-1

Turkey's southeastern town of Kilis, which is close to the Syrian border, is the setting of Michael Niemann's latest novel, No Right Way: A Valentin Vermeulen Thriller. According to the latest statistics, it is home to thousands of Syrian refugees to the extent that they outnumber the locals. Many of these refugees are recipients of cash cards that are provided to them by way of non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

These non-profits are citizen-based groups that function independently of governments. Unfortunately, there are instances when the NGO is set up by unsavory characters that do not have the best interests of the refugees at heart. They are only created to fill their own pockets at the expense of refugees. And when you have two million dollars swindled from The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Turkey, funds that are earmarked for Syrian refugees and where money is mixed in with money laundering and other illicit activities, you have the recipe for a horrendous problem on your hands. 

The story unfolds when a Syrian refugee, Zada Homsi, is murdered, and her body dumped in an olive grove. Unfortunately, Zada had stumbled across something ominous involving cash cards that were to be distributed to Syrian refugees.

Next, we are introduced to Valentin Vermeulen, an investigator for the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services, who is in Turkey for a meeting at the Gaziantep sub-office of the UN High Commissioner of Refugees. His assignment is to ascertain if the monies provided by the UNHCR for the Syrian refugees are spent properly. Little does he realize that he is about to become involved in something that he could never have imagined when he took on his assignment. He is about to experience life-threatening situations that will throw him into circumstances that are way beyond the scope of his job description. 

Before meeting with one of the officials,Bilek Balbay, at the UNHCR'S sub-office, Valentin visits a refugee camp in Kilis and comes in contact with Rima Ahmadi, who was a friend of Zada. Rima, accompanied by Valentin, who passes himself off as her attorney, is questioned at the local police station concerning the death of Zada. Rima informs the police that she doesn't know anything concerning her friend Zada. Although, without telling the police, she is determined to find out what happened to Zada. When the interrogation ends, a corrupt police officer working in the police station meets an intimidating “old man” in a TekCell shop to report to him what transpired at the station concerning Rima and Valentin. 

We eventually learn that “the old” man is Mehmed Ceylen, a Turkish mafioso. He is the owner of several corrupt enterprises that are involved in massive international money laundering, dealing in illegal weapons and selling them to ISIS, petrol smuggling from Syria, sweat shops in Turkey exploiting Syrian refugees, and the scamming of the UNHCR to the tune of two million dollars. Incidentally, the scam was concocted and run by his niece, Yasser, whose father was murdered by one of Mehmed's goons, and she is out for revenge. 

What begins as a routine audit evolves into something more than Valentin had expected in his quest to retrieve the stolen money from the UNHCR.

Although at times, I found the yarn a trifle sluggish, nonetheless, it did capture my attention with its shocking revelations and plot twists. It did take a lot longer to get this novel out of my mind than it does to read it considering the plight of Syrian refugees in Turkey and the challenges they face. Also, with its abundance of intrigue, friction, corruption, you wonder if this really is going on in Turkey?