Disengaged

March 9, 2015
High-tech drones, extrajudicial killings, and suspicious dealings involving Israel and Iran are at the center of this busy standalone from Hiller (Shake Off). Julian Fisher and Rami Haddad, partners at the London firm Hadfish Systems, design video games. When Rami takes on a contract to develop software for drones headed for the Middle East, Julian becomes alarmed at the ethical implications. Julian’s own
life, though, hasn’t been entirely honest. Enter former KGB agent Boris Reznik, a figure from Julian’s past, with a business proposition for him. Meanwhile, Iranian couple Mojgan and Farsheed also appear to have a vested interest in Hadfish’s drone work. To complicate matters, Julian is having problems with his girlfriend, Sheila, who, between drinking a lot of white wine and selling real estate,
is starting up a nonprofit organization in Afghanistan. Though the separate plot strands, both personal and professional, never quite mesh, Hiller provides spy thriller fans with an enjoyable ride. Agent: David Grossman, David Grossman Literary Agency.

Starred review from June 4, 2012
Set at the end of the cold war, Hiller’s beautifully written second novel (after 2010’s Sabra Zoo) chronicles the education of a spy. PLO agent Michel Khoury, who lives in a modest London bedsit but spent his first 15 years in a refugee camp in Lebanon, works for spymaster Abu Leila, who uses him mainly as a courier to shuttle documents from London to East Berlin and back. Now Leila wants his protégé to set up a meeting that will “change the course of history.” Meanwhile, Michel falls for his next-door neighbor, a playful young Englishwoman named Helen, despite a lifetime of keeping strict control over his emotions. Their romance causes increasing difficulties for Michel as he struggles to implement Leila’s instructions and stay true to his cause. A closing twist puts an entirely new perspective on Michel’s life, beliefs, and loyalties. Literary fiction fans will appreciate the sensitive, realistic portrayal of Michel and Helen’s love affair. Agent: David Grossman, David Grossman Literary Agency.

June 15, 2015

The head of a London software development firm is coerced into an off-the-books contract: vetting the location system of a guided missile. Unwittingly, he's gotten himself in the middle of a clandestine war between the Israeli and Iranian intelligence services. This thriller is as much about character as action. The motives driving the actors aren't always clear to each other or even to the reader, yet clarity emerges as the players' paths converge. Surprises abound until the final page. VERDICT Hiller's (Shake Off) third book starts slowly but takes off as webs of intrigue tighten around its characters. A twisty, engaging read for espionage fiction fans.--DK

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2015
Buried secrets resurface to threaten the lives and careers of four Londoners whose interlocking relationships are strained to the breaking point.Back in the 1980s, Julian Fisher was a spy working in Moscow. Now he runs Hadfish Systems, a software development company, with his pal Rami and lives with his longtime lover, Sheila, a real estate agent who knows no more than Rami of his past. Is it this intense sense of personal privacy that triggers Julian's numerous unexplained illnesses? Rami's new girlfriend, Cassie, takes an instant liking to Sheila and urges her to be more aggressive in shaking Julian's complacency. She even recommends that Sheila engage Rupert, a private detective, to spy on him. Maneuvering in the background is Mojgan, an elusive Iranian woman who, the reader eventually learns, is targeting Hadfish. New client Boris, Julian's former handler, proves even more of a threat to his secrecy than he first understands. Meanwhile, Mojgan targets Rami and Julian's middle-aged assistant, Naomi. When a temp shows up at the office to fill in for the devoted Naomi, Julian gets suspicious and goes to Naomi's flat, where she tearfully describes personal problems, and he comforts her. When the decidedly odd Rupert reports this incident to Sheila, it triggers a heated confrontation and her angry departure. But Sheila harbors a secret as well: a past fling with Rami. Boris' kidnapping of Sheila sets off a final and potentially deadly confrontation between the two former comrades. Hiller's third thriller (Shake Off, 2012, etc.), written with quiet authority, simmers with unexpected twists until the final chapter.