A Novel
by David McCloskey
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Publishes
Oct 3, 2023
464 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
A daring CIA operation threatens chaos in the Kremlin. But can Langley trust the Russian at its center?
CIA officers Sia and Max enter Russia under commercial cover to recruit Vladimir Putin's moneyman. Sia works for a London law firm that conceals the wealth of the superrich. Max's family business in Mexico—a CIA front since the 1960s—is a farm that breeds high-end racehorses. They pose as a couple to target Vadim, Putin's private banker, and his wife, Anna, who—unbeknownst to CIA—is a Russian intelligence officer under deep cover at the bank. As they descend further into a Russian world dripping with luxury and rife with gangland violence, Sia and Max's only hope may be Anna, who is playing a game of her own.
Careening between the horse ranch in northern Mexico, the corridors of Langley, and the dark opulence of Putin's Russia, Moscow X is both a gripping thriller of modern espionage and a raw, unsparing commentary on the nature of truth, loyalty, and vengeance amid the shadow war between the United States and Russia.
"[An] entertaining espionage caper....McCloskey mixes the tradecraft of John le Carré with the glitz of Sidney Sheldon...to produce a narrative filled with double- and triple-crosses enriched by pitch-perfect insider details."
―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The CIA pokes the Russian bear, and thriller fans win." ―Kirkus Reviews
"There is a new generation of spy novelists storming the genre, and David McCloskey must be counted as one of the best. Moscow X is a white-knuckled, fast-paced journey into the modern age of spy craft, where high-tech espionage jostles dangerously against old school cunning and Machiavellian intrigue; and where men and women risk everything to uncover an elusive and, ultimately, lethal truth." ―Kathleen Kent, New York Times best-selling author of Black Wolf
"A smart, sleek, and absolutely gripping thriller that swept me away. With chilling Cold War era intrigue set against a fantastic modern plot, Moscow X is a jaw-dropper from start to finish. David McCloskey is the new John le Carré."
―Brad Thor, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Dead Fall
"David McCloskey has delivered another mesmerizing tale of intrigue to follow the incredible Damascus Station. Moscow X is even better; an utterly authentic and deeply compelling thriller that is among the very best espionage fiction in print."
―Mark Greaney, #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Chaos Agent: A Gray Man Novel
"A spellbinding journey into the brutal, shadowy intrigues of the Russian elite and the underground world of espionage. The Russian condition, as seen through Anna's eyes, is both moving and terrifying. An electrifying read. I could not put it down."
―Clarissa Ward, CNN chief international correspondent and author of On All Fronts
"Moscow X brilliantly captures the nuances of field work in hostile environments, the thrill and terror that grip every intelligence officer when they are in the belly of the beast. McCloskey is the new poet laureate of the CIA operations officer."
― Marc E. Polymeropoulos, former CIA senior operations officer and author of Clarity in Crisis
This information about Moscow X was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
David McCloskey is the author of the novels Damascus Station and Moscow X. He's a former CIA analyst and a former consultant at McKinsey & Company. While at the CIA, he worked in field stations across the Middle East and briefed senior White House officials and Arab royalty. He lives in Texas.
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