The Mullah's Storm — Thomas W. Young

A transport plane carrying an important Taliban detainee for interrogation is shot down in a blizzard over Afghanistan. For two people-navigator Michael Parson and a woman Army interpreter, Sergeant Gold-a battle for survival begins across some of the most forbidding terrain on earth against not only the hazards of nature but the treacheries of man: the Taliban stalking them; the villagers, whose loyalty is unknown; and a prisoner who would very much like the three of them to be caught. All Parson and Gold have is each other, to stay alive.

It is a novel of relentless pace and constant surprise-and the beginning of a brilliant career.