Fatal Ally

July 8, 2019
Convincing and intelligent characters elevate this complex contemporary spy thriller from British author Sebastian (Spy in Question). After a five-year silence, Arkady Mazurin, who was once the U.K.’s most valuable Russian intelligence asset, makes contact with the British station chief in Moscow. He’s ready to defect to the West. MI6 agent Margo Lane approaches an American agent in an attempt to broker an exit strategy for Mazurin, only to be rebuffed, though she later gets involved in an operation to extract Mazurin that fails. In the process, she learns that she must try to protect her country from its enemies and allies alike. As the U.S. president says, “If allies ever told each other the truth, they wouldn’t be allies for very long.” A subsequent mission to kill a rogue agent takes Lane into the dangerous no-man’s-land on the Syrian border with Jordan. Readers will be fascinated to watch Lane, who provides the novel’s moral center, as she comes to terms with her order to kill, recognizing the personal costs of her decision to comply. Spy fiction aficionados looking for more than just the usual good guy vs. bad guy conflict will be rewarded. Agent: Claudia Young, Greene & Heaton (U.K.).

August 16, 2019

A former British Intelligence asset, Moscow-based Arkady Mazurin wants to defect to the West. His contact in MI6 hasn't heard from him in five years. Nevertheless, he claims he has information about a high-ranking Russian politician the Americans and the Brits will want. MI6 agent Margaret "Margo" Lane carefully devises a plan to extricate Mazurin from Russia, but the operation fails. Unbeknown to MI6, Mazurin had been betrayed by an upper-echelon American government official who is working with a Russian delegate to save his girlfriend--a spy who was caught in Syria. Margo must deliver a message to the United States, and her mission takes her to Russia, Syria, and into the depths of her conscience. VERDICT Former Moscow correspondent for the BBC and award-winning author Sebastian (Exit Berlin; Saviour's Gate) delivers a gripping spy thriller. Fans of Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy, Charles Cumming, and John LeCarré will enjoy the well-developed characters and riveting twists that keep the pages turning.--Russell Michalak, Goldey-Beacom Coll. Lib., Wilmington, DE

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2019
An outstanding new addition to the Severn House stable of authors, Sebastian produces a gripping spy thriller that will appeal to fans of John le Carr�, Charles Cumming, and the like. Backstabbing, double-dealing, and treachery all figure in this story in which Russians, Americans, and the British are all competing to get what they want in the complex and dangerous game of espionage. For Russia, it's trading a known double agent to America in return for Russia's help in extricating a U.S. agent who's trapped in Syria. For the U.S., it's about getting back at both Russia and the Brits for what it sees as years of deceit and betrayal, as well as finding ammunition to destroy any trust between the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service and MI6. And for the Brits, it's a matter of saving face and preserving what they see as the moral high ground by, ironically, making sure the U.S. agent in Syria never makes it out alive. Posing difficult questions about loyalty and morality, this unputdownable novel boasts a taut and suspenseful plot, vividly drawn characters, and an eye-opening look inside the dirty world of spying.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

August 16, 2019

A former British Intelligence asset, Moscow-based Arkady Mazurin wants to defect to the West. His contact in MI6 hasn't heard from him in five years. Nevertheless, he claims he has information about a high-ranking Russian politician the Americans and the Brits will want. MI6 agent Margaret "Margo" Lane carefully devises a plan to extricate Mazurin from Russia, but the operation fails. Unbeknown to MI6, Mazurin had been betrayed by an upper-echelon American government official who is working with a Russian delegate to save his girlfriend--a spy who was caught in Syria. Margo must deliver a message to the United States, and her mission takes her to Russia, Syria, and into the depths of her conscience. VERDICT Former Moscow correspondent for the BBC and award-winning author Sebastian (Exit Berlin; Saviour's Gate) delivers a gripping spy thriller. Fans of Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy, Charles Cumming, and John LeCarr� will enjoy the well-developed characters and riveting twists that keep the pages turning.--Russell Michalak, Goldey-Beacom Coll. Lib., Wilmington, DE

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.