An often enjoyable espionage novel with heated action and a cool setup.
An electronics whiz searches for his missing SEAL sister in this first volume of debut author Stokes’ episodic spy-thriller series.
Will Taylor is a quick-witted electrical engineer who takes on odd jobs—some legal, others not so much. His regular position is at defense contractor Trident, where he can get easy access to satellites. He’s sinking his earnings into his search for his sister, Capt. Laura Taylor, who was declared missing in action in Afghanistan a year ago. Will’s all alone in his mission until he meets Carter Callahan, a rogue CIA agent who has proof that Laura is a fellow spy—and that she’s alive as a captive of a renegade group called Fractal on Palmyra Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Fractal is also behind a recent suicide bombing at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., which was cover for a data theft. (That terrorist act is under investigation by the CIA’s Maia Calderon and MI6’s Sebastian George, but they aren’t present for long in this episode.) Carter’s complex scheme to get Will inside of Fractal hits a snag when their plane crashes short of their destination. In Stokes’ author’s note, he credits James Bond stories and the TV show Alias as inspirations for this debut project, and he ably echoes those classics’ fast-paced action and snappy dialogue. The book’s succinct 178-page length also recalls pulp novels of a bygone era, right down to a cliffhanger that will leave the reader wanting more; indeed, each of the series’ four episodes are set to be published within weeks of one another. The flip side of such a skinny volume is that there isn’t much room for character development. Will is the only figure whose motivation is clear; the rest of the players feel one-dimensional, but perhaps Stokes will more fully sketch them out over the course of the series. That said, this opener still manages to accomplish its goal of providing a driving narrative.
An often enjoyable espionage novel with heated action and a cool setup.Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7359509-0-7
Page Count: 178
Publisher: Time Egg Studios
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Intrigue, murder, and vengeance make for a darkly enjoyable read.
A woman’s life takes a stunning turn and a wall comes tumbling down in this tense Cold War spy drama.
In Berlin in 1989, the wall is about to crumble, and Anne Simpson’s husband, Stefan Koehler, goes missing. She is a translator working with refugees from the communist bloc, and he is a piano tuner who travels around Europe with orchestras. Or so he claims. German intelligence service the BND and America’s CIA bring her in for questioning, wrongly thinking she’s protecting him. Soon she begins to learn more about Stefan, whom she had met in the Netherlands a few years ago. She realizes he’s a “gregarious musician with easy charm who collected friends like a beachcomber collects shells, keeping a few, discarding most.” Police find his wallet in a canal and his prized zither in nearby bushes but not his body. Has he been murdered? What’s going on? And why does the BND care? If Stefan is alive, he’s in deep trouble, because he’s believed to be working for the Stasi. She’s told “the dead have a way of showing up. It is only the living who hide.” And she’s quite believable when she wonders, “Can you grieve for someone who betrayed you?” Smart and observant, she notes that the reaction by one of her interrogators is “as false as his toupee. Obvious, uncalled for, and easily put on.” Lurking behind the scenes is the Matchmaker, who specializes in finding women—“American. Divorced. Unhappy,” and possibly having access to Western secrets—who will fall for one of his Romeos. Anne is the perfect fit. “The matchmaker turned love into tradecraft,” a CIA agent tells her. But espionage is an amoral business where duty trumps decency, and “deploring the morality of spies is like deploring violence in boxers.” It’s a sentiment John le Carré would have endorsed, but Anne may have the final word.
Intrigue, murder, and vengeance make for a darkly enjoyable read.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64313-865-7
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Pegasus Crime
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
Plenty of excitement for Clancy fans.
Chinese president Li Jian Jun plans a sneak attack on Taiwan, and it’s up to the Jack Ryan administration to stop him without going to war.
President Li announces a naval exercise, but his real plan is Operation Sea Serpent, the lightning reunification of Taiwan. His minister of defense, Admiral Qin Hâiyû, thinks the idea is crazy because a great number of people would die, but he can’t say so. Li is not a man to be challenged, and he’s already had one of his ministers executed. But Qin wants to stop the war before it begins. Perhaps he can get word to the Americans so they can cut off the mad scheme, and he’s troubled by whether his actions will make him a traitor or a patriot. A Western asset nicknamed the Spider helps facilitate his dangerous disappearance as he attempts to leave China, and authorities in Beijing don’t know if he’s been kidnapped or has defected. Meanwhile, the Ryan administration wants to get him safely extracted from mainland China. President Ryan orders that an American naval vessel will transit through the Strait of Taiwan, which the People’s Republic has blockaded. Will there be a bloody showdown that triggers a major war? So much can go wrong, and there are series regulars like John Clark and Ding Chavez at the tip of the spear. And there’s also Katie Ryan, a lieutenant commander with the Office of Naval Intelligence who’s deployed to Taiwan because she’s “one hell of an intelligence analyst” who “thinks outside the box.” She’s a “rising star” who refuses to trade on her relationship with her father, President Ryan. There’s not much violence, although there’s enough to call it a military thriller. One brave American is fading fast from a round to his chest, but he has time to smile about that “hot” Katie Ryan. (Yes, yes, we all like the Ryans.) The novel’s big question is not which nation wins, but whether they fight. Bravery and clear thinking will have to come from both sides. By the way, Jack Junior isn’t in this one—it’s Katie’s time to shine.
Plenty of excitement for Clancy fans.Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9780593717974
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024
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