May 1, 2023

When CIA operatives Sia and Max travel to Russia, hoping to recruit Putin's private banker and his wife, Anna, also a banker and an intelligence officer as well, they soon realize that Anna is the better bet but has her own guarded priorities. From former CIA officer McCloskey, who debuted with Damascus Station, an ITW Best First Novel finalist. Prepub Alert.

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Starred review from August 21, 2023
Former CIA officer McCloskey (Damascus Station) serves up another entertaining espionage caper. Disgraced CIA case officer Artemis Aphrodite Procter sees a way to get back into her superior’s good graces with a scheme to turn Russian private banker and intelligence officer Anna Andreevna Agapova into a spy for the U.S., and to use her key position to destabilize Putin’s regime. To recruit her, Procter selects Max Castillo, whose cover involves running his family’s horse-breeding operation, and Hortensia “Sia” Fox, a London-based lawyer who helps the rich hide their assets. The stakes are high for all involved, as Max suggests they offer Anna his mother’s most prized horse to sweeten the deal, and things become complicated when Max and Sia fall in love. Standing in the way of their operation is Konstantin Konstantinovich Chernov, a Javert-like Russian intelligence officer. McCloskey mixes the tradecraft of John le Carré with the glitz of Sidney Sheldon and the effervescence of Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man to produce a narrative filled with double- and triple-crosses enriched by pitch-perfect insider details, such as the paperwork Max and Sia must submit to the CIA before they can consummate their affair. This sparkling work of escapism contains a smattering of real-world jitters.

Starred review from September 1, 2023
America and Russia don't play nice in a tale that mixes spies, horses, and gold bullion. Moscow X is a secret CIA operation designed to cause migraines for the Russian government, especially for Vladimir Putin. "Access to Putin's money would give us beautiful opportunities for fuckery and general mayhem," declares Artemis Aphrodite Procter, formerly the CIA's Chief of Station in Tajikistan. Her hands already "wet with Russian blood," she jumps at the chance to join Moscow X. At about the same time, Lieutenant Colonel Chernov of the Federal Security Service (FSB) illegally transfers 221 bars of gold from Bank Rossiya, although it's theft on Putin's behalf. "What is to be done when the police are robbing you?" wonders a bemused banker. Chernov demonstrates that "the law is nothing but ritual, it is a glorious gesture of subjugation to our leader." Anyway, the gold belongs to Russia, which in turn belongs to God. Therefore, it's God's gold, so the "withdrawal" is ultimately legitimate. (Nice reasoning!) Putin has a financial stake in RusFarm, a Thoroughbred horse operation. Anna Agapova has deep ties to the Russian establishment, but she meets sub rosa with the CIA. She is a complex character who has troubled relationships with her husband and her country, but whether she becomes a traitor to her homeland remains to be seen. A nice detail: She carries a lipstick gun, the "Kiss of Death," which plays an unexpected role in the story. The cast of well-developed characters also includes Hortensia "Sia" Fox, a "hot-shit NOC" (non-official cover) who wants a Russian scalp, and there are nasty villains like Anna's husband. The story builds a bit slowly at first, but the tension grows as well. There's a reference to overthrowing Putin, but that doesn't seem like the point. Procter has it right that the best analogy for U.S.-Russia relations is of "two individuals punching each other in a fight without end." Human life and horseflesh are at risk, and the blood that eventually flows won't tilt the balance of power in either direction. The author researched his subject deeply, and it shows. The CIA pokes the Russian bear, and thriller fans win.

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