Karen Cleveland: Need to Know

An excellent, wonderfully well and convincingly-plotted spy thriller that has twists and turns right until, almost literally, the final words.

The author, as an ex CIA analyst, is highly plausible, particularly about the personal conflicts that do/could arise from that sort of work. At the very start when the initial revelation that triggers the plot was revealed, and her first actions were considered and acted upon, I did wonder about how likely those decisions were but as the book developed and we found out more about the characters and relationships (and their history) then it became completely plausible to me and I never had any other doubts in that area as the story unfolded.

I particularly liked the way that, throughout the book, the story of the couple relationship, and key moments therein, were shown -but they often had an intriguing tinge and spin put upon them (how true and real were the feelings expressed) in the light of the central dramatic revelation that triggers the entire plot. The wife, when looking back, was constantly asking herself whether the wonderful things and events and situations that she recalled really were what they seemed to be -and this persistent ambiguity and sometimes crippling doubt, was very well, no grippingly, conveyed.

Best sort of summer read and recommended.