Red Cell

Starred review from March 5, 2012
CIA analyst Henshaw’s assured debut, an exciting espionage thriller, puts him solidly in the ranks of the top writers of the genre. After recuperating from wounds sustained in a gone-bad mission in Venezuela, CIA field agent Kyra Stryker is assigned a Langley desk job in Red Cell, an analysis unit whose only other member for the moment is cranky but brilliant Jonathan Burke. Meanwhile in Beijing, the long-time Chinese CIA spy known as Pioneer realizes, after his cover is blown, that he’s in desperate trouble. As relations between China and Taiwan deteriorate, China readies an attack. The USS Lincoln aircraft carrier group enters the Taiwan Strait, where the Chinese bring a secret weapon into play. Henshaw deftly weaves together all the major and minor players—the U.S., Chinese, and Taiwanese governments; the spies who provide information; and the analysts who turn that information into intelligence. The masterfully handled air-and-ship battle at the end is worthy of Tom Clancy. Agent: Jason Yarn, Paradigm Agency.

June 15, 2012

Drawing on his experience working in the CIA's Red Cell think tank (created two days after 9/11), Henshaw has crafted an intriguing debut political/military thriller. A disastrous mission in Venezuela brings Kyra Stryker back home. She is given an assignment in the Red Cell program that she considers a demotion. Forced to work with Jonathan Burke, an analyst with questionable methods and attitude, Kyra quickly learns the job is vital to national security. Taiwan and China are at odds, and the United States is ready to intervene. VERDICT Burke's character is a bit enigmatic, but Kyra's quest for redemption amid a potential World War III scenario proves compelling. The narrative's authentic details about spycraft will be irresistible to hard-core spy fiction aficionados, who will eagerly seek Henshaw's next dip into the CIA pool. [The novel has been optioned by Johnny Depp's production company--Ed.]

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2012
The Chinese are gearing up for a takeover of Taiwan, offering a scary vision of the future with the monstrous destruction of a Taiwanese naval base. It's up to CIA agent Kyra Stryker to retrieve a veteran undercover "asset" in Beijing who is now targeted by the Chinese and for U.S. Navy forces to stop China's secret military weapon before it stops them. For his first novel, former CIA analyst Henshaw draws upon his stint with the agency's Red Cell unit, formed by CIA director George Tenet two days after 9/11 as a source of alternative, unconventional intelligence. That's where Stryker lands after her first mission (in Venezuela) goes bad due to no fault of her own. Teamed with straight-shooting analyst Jonathan Burke under agreeable CIA director Kathryn Cooke, Stryker detects patterns of unrest involving Chinese spies in Taiwan and plans for re-unifying it with the mainland. What U.S. President Harry Stuart doesn't know in his hard-nosed exchanges with Chinese President Tian Kai is that the People's Liberation Army is in possession of Assassin's Mace, a weapon with frightening capabilities. Cutting back and forth among countries and locales, the novel turns up the tension, taking time to provide first-rate descriptions of scenery and technology. Stryker, a role in waiting for Keira Knightley, proves as good an action hero as intelligence gatherer. She takes a bullet to the arm and an elbow to the chops and keeps running. Pioneer is a classic burnout who has been under stress for so long he doesn't know who he's angry at anymore. The novel doesn't have the dimensions that distinguish the best spy thrillers--it has the feel of the pilot for an ongoing series. But it's a lean and efficient effort fueled by an infrequent quality: believability. In this deft novel of intelligence, the CIA actually shines.

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April 15, 2012
Rookie CIA agent Kyra Stryker is made the scapegoat when her first mission, in South America, ends in disaster. Kathy Cooke, the CIA director, sees promise in the young case officer and brings her back to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, to work in the Red Cell, a think tank whose sole purpose is to tell the director and, ultimately, the president what no one else is telling them. The head of Red Cell (and the only member, since he has alienated all his other colleagues) is brusque but brilliant analyst Jonathan Burke. When a diplomatic flare-up results in the Chinese mainland invading Taiwan, the U.S. is caught unawares and soon sends a naval-carrier strike force to the area. But the Chinese are unconcerned, as they have a secret weapon waiting patiently in the wings to unleash on the U.S. ships. The only lead that Red Cell has is a Chinese national, known as Pioneer, who has been a CIA spy for decades. Stryker and Burke have only a few hours to smuggle him out of China and discover his secrets before the weapon becomes active. This technothriller is the perfect read-alike for fans of Tom Clancy, Dale Brown, Patrick Robinson, and Joe Buff.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)