Need to Know

October 15, 2017
In Cleveland's debut novel, a CIA analyst tracks Russian sleeper agents--to her own front door. On the surface, Vivian and Matt live a traditional American life: they have a happy marriage based on a lucky meeting and love at first sight; a house in the suburbs near the best schools; four beautiful children. There is some financial strain, but Vivian feels fulfilled by her work on the Russia desk at the CIA, and Matt's IT job allows him flexibility to pick up the kids as needed. Vivian's team is working hard to uncover the system used to keep track of Russian sleeper agents, and as she secretly navigates through the hacked computer of a midlevel Russian handler, she's thrilled to discover photographs of his five agents--until she realizes that one of the faces is that of her husband. Suddenly, everything she thought secure--her marriage, her patriotism, and her very life--lies on shaky ground. Whose side is Matt really on? Should she turn him in? Can she betray her country to keep her family together? The fast-moving plot will appeal to fans of The Americans and to conspiracy theorists, and Cleveland was herself a CIA analyst, so she knows her way around secrets and those who fight to keep them. The problem is that the characters lack human development. Vivian's inner conflict is clear and somewhat poignant, especially as she looks back over the years of her life and has to reconsider every word her husband ever said, every decision they made, even the way they met. But Matt seems a somewhat slippery character from the beginning, so maybe she just wasn't very good at reading people. If you don't expect a deeply thoughtful thriller, you'll get carried away by the action enough to enjoy it.

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October 23, 2017
Former CIA analyst Cleveland’s assured if thinly plotted debut is an unusual mix of family drama and spy thriller. The narrator, CIA analyst Vivian, is part of a team in the Counterintelligence Center, Russia Division, that’s searching for agents running sleeper cells in the U.S. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her four young children and doting husband. Flashbacks chart the couple’s courtship, then their lives as hyperbusy young parents, delving deeply into maternal and marital love. When Vivian isn’t fretting about her family, she’s trying to extricate herself from a colossal treasonous mess that results from a startling discovery that she makes in the course of her research. The deep backstory may attract readers not usually drawn to espionage novels, but thriller fans who like tradecraft and action will have to look elsewhere. Agent: David Gernert, Gernert Company.

Starred review from November 1, 2017
What would you do if you found out that your entire life, including your husband, your children, and your career, might be part of an orchestrated effort on the part of the Russian government to infiltrate the CIA? Vivian Miller, a dedicated agent within the Company, is about to face that dilemma. She has developed a system to identify Russian operatives who control sleeper agents in the U.S., those seemingly normal people who live among us in plain sight, much like the Jennings family team in the TV series The Americans. Call me paranoid, she says, or just call me a CIA counterintelligence analyst. While accessing the computer of a suspected Russian handler, Vivian opens a folder named Friends, and what she finds there will change everything. Between alternating waves of panic and resolve, her patriotism and devotion are put to the test when she realizes that she has placed the Agency, her family, and herself in immediate danger. This is a compelling debut about a timely issueRussian threats to our security loom large in every news cyclefrom a writer with a background in CIA counterterrorism. Perfect for fans of Shari Lapena's thrillers and Chris Pavone's The Expats (2012), and for just about everyone who loves the thrill of finding themselves in a book that can't be put down.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: One of the buzziest thrillers of the season, Cleveland's debut comes with AAA-list blurbs from Louise Penny and Lee Child, among others, and with film rights sold to Universal for a Charlize Theron movie.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

Starred review from October 1, 2017

DEBUT This pulse-hammering first novel plays fiendishly with interagency cooperation between the CIA and the FBI. CIA analyst Vivian Miller is also a mother of four, including a special-needs child. With her loving husband, she is deeply committed to the happiness and health of their nuclear family. While at work, she seeks well-hidden moles long believed to threaten American security. Vivian is startled to see her husband's photo turn up in the computer of a known Russian agent. In a flood of panic she deletes the image. When Matt learns what she has done, he is straightforward. Yep, he's been in Russia's service for 23 years. VERDICT Having worked for the FBI and CIA, debut author Cleveland peppers her book with apparently impeccable tradecraft details. Flashing back to the events that led to the couple's predicament and then onward as they act to stem the tidal wave of prosecutorial woes that await them, this suspenseful espionage tale is a rousing Act 2 to the excitement of TV's The Americans and the novels of Chris Pavone. [See Prepub Alert, 7/24/17; film rights sold to Universal Pictures; Charlize Theron will star.]--Barbara Conaty, Falls Church, VA

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2017

Counterintelligence analyst Vivian Miller discovers a secret dossier of deep-cover agents that could bring her whole life crashing down. Great bona fides for this thriller debut: the author is a veteran CIA analyst, the book has been sold to more than 20 countries, and Charlize Theron is producing and starring in the film adaptation.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2017

DEBUT This pulse-hammering first novel plays fiendishly with interagency cooperation between the CIA and the FBI. CIA analyst Vivian Miller is also a mother of four, including a special-needs child. With her loving husband, she is deeply committed to the happiness and health of their nuclear family. While at work, she seeks well-hidden moles long believed to threaten American security. Vivian is startled to see her husband's photo turn up in the computer of a known Russian agent. In a flood of panic she deletes the image. When Matt learns what she has done, he is straightforward. Yep, he's been in Russia's service for 23 years. VERDICT Having worked for the FBI and CIA, debut author Cleveland peppers her book with apparently impeccable tradecraft details. Flashing back to the events that led to the couple's predicament and then onward as they act to stem the tidal wave of prosecutorial woes that await them, this suspenseful espionage tale is a rousing Act 2 to the excitement of TV's The Americans and the novels of Chris Pavone. [See Prepub Alert, 7/24/17; film rights sold to Universal Pictures; Charlize Theron will star.]--Barbara Conaty, Falls Church, VA

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.