Explore the real-world places that appear in True Believer by Jack Carr. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Mozambique Bush (Gorongosa region), Maputo, CIA Headquarters, Langley, The White House, Berlin Christmas Market, Breitscheidplatz and 4 more.
Central Mozambique — Reece's wilderness refuge
After avenging his family and team, James Reece vanishes into the remote Mozambican wilds. He is sheltered by the family of his estranged best friend and fellow SEAL, Raife Hunter. Reece lives off the grid here until a chain of events exposes his location to the outside world. That exposure leads the CIA to recruit him.
Mozambique's interior includes vast wilderness areas, such as the Gorongosa ecosystem. The region was devastated by the civil war from 1977 to 1992. It has since been the focus of one of Africa's largest wildlife restoration efforts. The setting is the real-world equivalent of the novel's remote bush.
Gorongosa National Park is a protected area known for its lions, elephants, and hippos. It offers lodges, guided safaris, and conservation programs for visitors.
Visit: Gorongosa National Park (park)
Mozambique's capital — gateway between the bush and the world
Mozambique's capital stands in for the point where Reece's hidden life connects to the outside world. Reece's exposure and recruitment by the CIA pull him out of the African bush and back into the machinery of American power, with a Presidential pardon and immunity for his friends as leverage.
Founded as Lourenço Marques, the city became the capital of Portuguese Mozambique and was renamed Maputo after independence in 1975. It is a major port on Maputo Bay with distinctive colonial architecture.
Maputo is a busy port city with markets, museums, and the landmark Maputo Railway Station. It is the main international entry point for southern Mozambique.
Visit: Maputo Central Railway Station (landmark)
George Bush Center for Intelligence — Reece is recruited
The CIA is the institution that recruits Reece. It offers a Presidential pardon and immunity for his helpers in exchange for his service hunting terrorist leaders. Reece becomes a reluctant tool of the government. His missions eventually expose a traitorous CIA officer working against the agency from within.
The Langley campus opened in 1961 after President Eisenhower approved its construction in 1955. It was named the George Bush Center for Intelligence in 1999.
It remains the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency and is closed to the public. Visitors can only see the secure perimeter from the road.
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW — the pardon and the stakes
The Presidential pardon that makes Reece's cooperation possible originates in the highest levels of the U.S. government. Reece's mission, targeting terrorist leaders and uncovering a sinister assassination plot with worldwide repercussions, plays out against the backdrop of Washington's politics and power.
Designed by James Hoban, the White House has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. It was rebuilt after the British burned it in 1814.
The White House is a National Historic Landmark. Tours must be requested in advance through a member of Congress, and the nearby White House Visitor Center is open to all.
Visit: White House Visitor Center (landmark)
Charlottenburg — holiday-season terror in the West
The novel opens with a string of horrific terror attacks across the Western world during the holiday season. Christmas markets and crowded public gathering places make ideal targets for the shadowy former Iraqi commando coordinating the violence. This real-world square is the most likely equivalent of such targets in Europe.
Breitscheidplatz is home to the ruined Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, kept as a war memorial after the 1943 bombing. In December 2016 a truck attack on the Christmas market here killed twelve people.
The square again hosts a Christmas market each winter. A memorial of brass-filled steps in the pavement commemorates the 2016 victims beside the church.
Visit: Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and Breitscheidplatz Memorial (monument)
City of Light — a target of holiday-season attacks
Paris stands for the European cities rattled by the coordinated attacks. The terror network behind them is directed by a former Iraqi commando who has vanished into Europe's underground. Reece is brought in because he is the one American asset who can turn that commander against his masters.
Paris has been the target of several major terrorist attacks, including the November 2015 attacks that killed 130 people. The French capital has long been a hub for intelligence cooperation with the U.S.
Paris is among the world's most visited cities, with the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and Notre-Dame. Memorials throughout the city honor the victims of the 2015 attacks.
Visit: Eiffel Tower (landmark)
Belgium — Europe's jihadist underground
The hunt for the Iraqi commando leads Reece into Europe's underground, where radicalized networks hide among immigrant communities. This district is the real-world analogue of the hidden safe houses and smuggling pipelines that sustain the attacks. Reece must work in the shadows, away from official cover.
Molenbeek-Saint-Jean is a Brussels municipality that became notorious after being linked to the planners of the 2015 Paris and 2016 Brussels attacks. Belgian authorities have since stepped up policing and community programs.
Molenbeek is a vibrant multicultural neighborhood with markets, a canal-side area, and a growing arts scene. It is a residential area, not a tourist attraction.
11 Wall Street — markets in a tailspin
As the attacks multiply during the holiday season, the broader markets fall into a tailspin. The financial fallout shows how terror can cripple the global economy. This raises the urgency for the U.S. government to unleash Reece against those who direct the violence.
The NYSE traces its origins to the 1792 Buttonwood Agreement. Its Broad Street building opened in 1903 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978.
The trading floor is not open to tourists. Wall Street, Federal Hall, and the Charging Bull are nearby and accessible.
Visit: Federal Hall National Memorial (historic site)
Coronado, California — the SEAL brotherhood
Reece's identity is rooted in the SEAL Teams, and the bond with his estranged best friend and former teammate Raife Hunter is central to his survival. The Naval Special Warfare community and its brotherhood of operators loom large over Reece's choices throughout the story.
The Naval Amphibious Base Coronado is the home of Naval Special Warfare on the West Coast and the site of Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training since the 1960s.
The base is an active military installation and not open to the public. The nearby Naval Special Warfare Museum is not open for general access, though Coronado's beaches are public.
More by Jack Carr: The Terminal List locations map · All Jack Carr books