The Mulberry Bush

Starred review from August 31, 2015
The unnamed narrator of this exceptional spy novel from McCarry (The Shanghai Factor) vows to avenge his father, a disgraced secret agent. The narrator engineers his own recruitment into “Headquarters” (McCarry’s name for the CIA) and, after training, begins his career as a covert agent, hunting and killing terrorists in the Middle East, though he never forgets his chief purpose in life: exacting retribution on those responsible for his father’s downfall. Amzi Strange, the deputy director for operations and his father’s former enemy at Headquarters, brings the narrator back home, where he decides to implement his plan by infiltrating the remains of a terror organization in Latin America that was led by the charismatic Alejandro Aguilar. The narrator begins an affair with Aguilar’s 29-year-old daughter, Luz, and eventually they marry. McCarry spins his riveting story in unexpected ways; the writing is always subdued but brilliant, leading unsuspecting readers to collide straight into the unforgiving wall of a stunning ending. In a cover blurb, Lee Child says, “Charles McCarry is better than John le Carré.” Many thriller fans will agree.

February 29, 2016
Former CIA operations officer McCarry’s many novels reflect his insider’s knowledge of spy craft. This time he has concocted a splendid revenge tale in which the young and brilliant unnamed narrator sets out to take down the CIA spy masters responsible for destroying the career (and spirit) of his estranged but not unloved late father. He quickly works his way upward in the agency. Then, on assignment in Buenos Aires, he meets Luz Aguilar, the beautiful and influential daughter of two revolutionaries killed by the Argentinian police. He decides to woo and conscript her into assisting him in avenging both of their late fathers. Reader Fass provides the narrator with a soft-spoken, almost gentle conversational voice that proves surprisingly appropriate, even for a tale as hard-edged as this. After all, the narrator is engaged in a mind game that requires a calculated coolness. There are some moments when his emotions are unleashed and others when his calm turns sharply cynical. Thanks to the plot and its presentation, this is a revenge dish served cold and satisfying. A Grove/Atlantic/Mysterious hardcover.

Narrator Robert Fass shares his gift for crisp articulation and natural-sounding conversation in this notable audiobook. His warm tones enhance the unusual spy story that unfolds. An American agent falls in love with an enchanting Argentinean beauty, but their relationship is encumbered by the shadows of their fathers--his an alienated American spy and hers a famous revolutionary. Fass delicately renders the voice of beautiful Luz and creates subtle but distinguishable characterizations of people from the Middle East and Russia. As the American spy coldly manipulates his many clandestine affiliations, the listener wonders whether he'll get the revenge he so earnestly seeks. N.M.C. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine