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First published in 1983, this is one of a half dozen of McCarry's espionage1 thrillers2 featuring CIA agent Paul Christopher, an old school spy who operates in a world where clever and vicious communists are unquestionably the villains3, and who is handsome, dedicated4 and never short of compliant5 women. Dismissing his lover Molly Benson's feelings of dread6, Paul leaves her bed to fly off to 1960s Vietnam. Sure enough, Molly is quickly murdered. Abruptly7, the book flashes back to 1926 Germany where Paul's father, a young American writer, encounters minor8 Prussian nobility and the woman who will become Paul's mother. Apolitical until the Nazis9 arrest his wife in 1939, Paul's father joins the OSS that becomes the postwar CIA. At this point, fans of this veteran author will settle back to enjoy nearly 400 pages of nasty scheming. Paul's father spies successfully, but his obsessive10 efforts to track down his wife lead to Paul's father's murder. Following his father's footsteps into the Cold War "outfit," Paul travels the world to counter communist skullduggery, while delivering plenty of his own. He retires (after a 10-year stint11 in a Chinese prison) but continues to investigate his father's death. In so doing, he finds the answer as well as the reason for Molly's murder, leading to a shocking twist that turns his world upside down.
Book review
This is without question the best spy/epionage book I have ever read. McCarry takes you through a maze12 of war, violence, family pain...frankly13 he misses nothing. This book is so rich and intelligently written you just can't put it down. I have found it rare that a book of this genre14 illicits this kind of depth.
The fact that McCarry was a CIA operative in real life comes through quite obviously. His knowledge and understanding of this subject, undeniable. This novel spans over decades and unlike so many spy novels, builds and unfolds the characters like few books do, let alone a spy novel. That's what gives this book it's brillance, McCarry took his time and so carefully and painstakingly15 crafted these characters...wow!
Unlike some reviewers, I don't go into the storyline and frankly with this novel that would be too challenging to do anyway...yeah the story is that big. This novel however will make future spy novels that you read pale in comparison and has raised the bar. A great follow-up read to this is Old Boys, which is a continuation of the Paul & Lori Christopher characters. Whatever you do, read this book-because you just haven't read first rate espionage fiction until you do.
Author introduction
Charles McCarry was born in 1930, and spent much of his non-writing life working for the CIA. He divides his time between the Berkshires and Florida's west coast.
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