This is the third book in a stated series of four, with the fourth due to be published later this year (2025)
This story is about finding a mole somewhere in the higher ranks of the CIA.
With Artemis Procter still sitting at a desk in the diminished Moscow Station in Langley her patience is running out.
When one of her agents gets snatched in Singapore, whilst meeting with a Russian asset, she starts to suspect things are not right.
The fact that a highly placed asset had recently committed suicide on his return to Moscow only heightens her suspicions.
So when she is sacked by the people she once thought friends she has no choice but to go rogue, and try to out the person she suspects as the traitor, no matter how highly they are positioned.
Meanwhile in Russia two factions are fighting. One wants to act on every piece of information given by the mole in the CIA, one wants to take it more cautiously for fear of tipping their hand.
What follows are struggles in both America and Russia.
At times it’s hard to unwind the twisting plot, and that is where this book is not as good as the first two in the series.
There is too much rambling, too much unnecessary padding with side stories that don’t really add to the main story.
Some bit part characters carry too much detail, with their back stories taking up pages of unnecessary text.
If I awarded star markings both the previous books in the series would have been easy five stars. This one would be a three because of the unnecessary content.
Had this been the first book in the series I doubt I would have finished it, I definitely would not have read any others, but I’m invested and hope that the final book will throw some type of meaning, or give context to some of this story.
nigeladamsbookworm 