A cinematic and suspenseful spy novel.
After a terrorist cell acquires a nuclear bomb, an American intelligence operative strikes out on his own to stop them in this political thriller.
Connor Sloane, an audio surveillance operative in the CIA’s East Asia/Pacific counterintelligence department, comes across a cryptic phone call between an unknown man and Mohammad Hakimi, who has connections to Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Islamic State group. Unable to secure authorization from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to pursue the lead further, Connor decides to look into the matter on his own. Rothman, the author of The Inside Man (2019), generates a feeling of authenticity by explaining potentially unfamiliar protocols, such as the court’s role in granting sanction to “allow Connor to dig deeper through the local telephone records” and track Hakimi’s contacts. The author also effectively develops a theme of frustration with government regulations; whenever such rules come into play, Connor physically reacts: “slammed the heel of his hand against the desk,” “scoffed,” “chewed on his bottom lip,” “slammed his car door shut, then slapped the steering wheel hard with his palm.” Indeed, his barely contained rage earns him an invitation to join the Outfit, a shadow intelligence organization whose credo (“if it’s actionable, we act”) appeals to him. When Connor’s hunch proves correct and bombings begin to occur all over New York, Connor decides to work with the Outfit to stop the violence. Throughout the novel, Rothman delivers compellingly visual action scenes: “Three [men] down, and the only sounds had been the muffled pops from Connor’s silenced M4, the pinging of the bouncing brass, and the rustle of bodies falling.” Although some of these moments strain credulity, they’re entertaining, nonetheless.
A cinematic and suspenseful spy novel.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 340
Publisher: Primordial Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 8, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
At about 500 pages, this one is fat, fast, and fun. Clancy's spirit lives on.
The latest high-energy entry in the Gray Man series (Back Blast, 2016, etc.).
Courtland Gentry, also known as the Gray Man, is everything you’d want in a fictional professional killer. The CIA agent–turned-freelancer is still on America’s side, he’s deadly against superior odds, and he trots out a conscience now and then. The CIA sends Gentry to Hong Kong for an assignment that is "possibly the most important of his life," but he's soon kidnapped. Identifying himself to his captors as “just a hired hit man looking for work,” he isn’t in town a full day before he kills two Chinese intelligence operatives. Then he learns his true mission, finding a Chinese defector for the CIA. Gentry isn’t sure whether he’s rescuing or kidnapping Fan Jiang, but it doesn’t matter. Fan is an information technology specialist from Mainland China who wants to go to Taiwan. The CIA wants Fan because he knows “the Chinese secure networks inside and out,” Chinese intelligence wants him back for the same reason, and even Vietnamese soldiers and gangsters are in on the hunt. And there is Zoya Zakharova, the beautiful (of course) Russian foreign intelligence agent assigned to bring Fan Jiang to Russia. She’s Gentry’s one adversary who is his equal. The action is fast and complicated with bodies galore—all for a good cause, of course—and one literal cliffhanger. Author Greaney co-wrote several Tom Clancy novels, and this thriller is tailor-made for Clancy’s fans. The Gray Man’s character is several shades darker than Jack Ryan’s, though he lacks Ryan’s depth. But Gentry always gets the job done for the US of A, and he entertains while doing it. Whether he kills or beds Zakharova, readers will have to find out.
At about 500 pages, this one is fat, fast, and fun. Clancy's spirit lives on.Pub Date: Feb. 21, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-425-28285-4
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
Cleveland engenders deep paranoia for the susceptibility of U.S. intelligence—under the guise of entertainment.
“How well do any of us know our neighbors?” This question anchors Cleveland’s latest novel as a CIA analyst fights against the clock to keep Iranian intelligence from infiltrating the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System.
Beth Bradford’s life is in transition: Her youngest son has just started college, and she and her husband are moving out of the house where all three of their kids grew up, away from the McLean, Virginia, neighborhood where their best friends still live. Their marriage is also fading; Beth’s only solace is that she will have more time to devote to preventing Iranian intelligence from infiltrating the network using an asset only known as “The Neighbor.” Despite her almost 20 years on the case, however, she is suddenly reassigned to a teaching gig, losing her high-level security clearance and her professional raison d’être. The last bit of intelligence she (surreptitiously) accesses is a short message: “The Neighbor has found a new cul-de-sac.” Determined to figure out the identity of The Neighbor before national security is compromised, she begins to surveill her old neighborhood, noticing for the first time how most of her friends, in addition to the woman who bought her house, have their own secrets and could potentially be guilty. But no one will believe her; her family, friends, and co-workers chalk up her suspicions to midlife crisis paranoia. Will she uncover the identity of The Neighbor before it’s too late? Despite a rather predictable pattern—no one seems to understand that Beth’s concern is rooted in more than her chaotic life changes—there are a number of satisfying twists in the second half of the book. To answer the rhetorical question: No, it’s clear that we never really know our neighbors—or our own families—but must rely only on ourselves. A stark takeaway, yes, but that doesn’t make it wrong.
Cleveland engenders deep paranoia for the susceptibility of U.S. intelligence—under the guise of entertainment.Pub Date: July 26, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35802-3
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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