In the Skin of a Jihadist

By: Anna Erelle, Erin Potter

Narrated by: uncredited

Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's Summary

The riveting personal story of a young French journalist who goes undercover and gets dangerously close to a key member of ISIS.

On Facebook, Melodie - a 20-year-old convert to Islam living with her mother and sister in Toulouse - meets Bilel, a French-born, high-ranking militant for the Islamic State in Syria. Within days, Bilel falls in love with Melodie, and Skypes her repeatedly, urging her to come to Syria, marry him, and do jihad.

But Melodie is actually Anna Erelle, a Paris-based journalist investigating the recruitment channels of the Islamic State, whose digital propaganda constitutes one of its most formidable and frightening weapons, successfully mobilizing increasing numbers of young Europeans.

In this mesmerizing true story, Erelle chronicles her intense month-long relationship with Bilel - who turns out to be none other than the right-hand man of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed caliph of ISIS. Impatient for Melodie to join him, Bilel tells her that, according to an imam he has consulted, they are already all but married, and will be officially when she arrives in Syria. As she embarks on the final, most perilous stage of her investigation, Melodie leaves for Amsterdam to begin her journey to the Middle East. But things go terribly wrong.

A gripping and often harrowing inquiry into the factors that motivate young people to join extremist causes, In the Skin of a Jihadist is a pause-resister that helps us better understand the appeal of extremism.

©2015 Anna Erelle; English translation (c) HarperCollins (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

Great Listen

Left me wanting more. Fortunately, there was no negative outcome.

A link analysis chart would add much to all the characters.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

So creepy.

Very vivid picture, and description of how these monsters are trained to be master manipulaters. And in reading this I thought it read like a novel, but the tragic part is that it is a true story. It kept me on the edge of my seat.

weak story line

Would you ever listen to anything by Anna Erelle and Erin Potter again?

no

How did the narrator detract from the book?

She just seemed to stick with her own voice ost of the time, very monotonous tone

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

unknown

I wish she had added more details of her conversation and text of them both.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful