Dark Spies

September 29, 2014
Dunn's exciting fourth Spycatcher novel (after 2013's Slingshot) finds Will Cochrane, the extraordinary agent who serves both the CIA and MI6, in the Norwegian Arctic, where his job is to protect Ellie Hallowes, the "CIA's best deep-cover officer," and her Russian informant, code name Herald. When armed intruders interrupt the meeting between Ellie and Herald at a log cabin, Cochrane, who's on guard nearby, receives orders from his superiors via remote phone not to interfere, even though he can see one of the armed men is about to shoot Ellie. By electing to try to save Ellie's life, he threatens a secret operation known as Project Ferryman, and his only choices are to flee or to face his handlers. Cochrane's few allies are almost helpless as he treks back from Norway to Washington, D.C., against incredible odds and obstacles. The powerful men behind Project Ferryman pull out all the stops to get Cochrane, as does the wily Russian SVR officer known as Antaeus. Great action sequences and a clever if complicated plot make this a satisfying read. Agent: Luigi Bonomi, Luigi Bonomi Associates (U.K.).

October 15, 2014
Former MI6 insider Dunn chronicles another deep and intense thriller that feels authentic in terms of how it conveys the spy world. This time Will Cochrane receives an assignment that he believes is beneath his abilities: he's asked to babysit an agent who is meeting with her informant. During the meeting, Cochrane waits in visual range but expects to do nothing but complain afterward. When men arrive to assassinate the agent and her source, however, Cochrane goes into action. Realizing that the instigator of the violence is someone assumed dead, he asks for permission to take him out. To Cochrane's horror, he is denied the pleasure. Going against orders, he tries to stop the killer, which forces Cochrane to live off the grid while he searches for answers. Dunn has crafted another winner in this fine series. The world of spy fiction has a writer who deserves comparison to Ludlum and Fleming.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)