Need To Know
The Sunday Times Bestseller
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3.9 • 16 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
‘Heart-poundingly suspenseful and heart-wrenchingly insightful’ J.P. Delaney, author of The Girl Before
Married for ten years. Four children. She thought she knew her husband better than anyone.
She was wrong.
You get to work. Make a coffee. Turn on your computer.
Your task: break into a Russian criminal's laptop and find proof that he's concealing five deep-cover agents - seemingly normal people living in plain sight.
You’re in. Five faces stare back at you.
One of them is your husband.
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PRAISE FOR KAREN CLEVELAND:
‘This compulsive, clever thriller will have you reading long into the night’ Red
‘An immensely satisfying story with serpentine twists and turns’ Daily Mail
'You won't be able to put it down until the final, stunning page' Shari Lapena, author of THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR
'If you read chapter two, you'll miss dinner, stay up far too late, and feel tired at work tomorrow. This is that kind of book. Superb.' Lee Child
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Former CIA analyst Karen Cleveland channels her knowledge of the agency's ins and outs—and her observational powers—into her electrifying debut novel. Vivian Miller spends her days tracking down Russian sleeper agents and her nights decompressing with her husband, Matt, and tending to her four children. When her worlds collide, she's faced with the toughest imaginable choice: protect her family or the country she's sworn to serve? Cleveland’s mix of agency action, domestic drama and jaw-dropping plot twists make this book hard to put down.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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.
Customer Reviews
The Brooks Books
“The Brooks Books” - we all really enjoyed the story. However, we feel that Vivienne is a naive character who chooses to disregard the reality of her life. It’s clear that Vivienne is living in a dream world, that she’s projecting a happy family vibe onto a situation that is dangerous for her family and herself. There were some technical situations/incidents that Vivienne got away with initially which we think are a little far fetched. We feel the ending removed any ambiguity from the sequel that is definitely about to come. In saying that we really did enjoy the story, we couldn’t put it down and those comments above didn’t detract from our enjoyment of the book.
OMG
This is the first book by Karen Cleveland & is fairly well written.
Although there were a number of twists & turns quite a few outcomes were easy to determine.
The most frightening part of the book is the main character Vivian.If the CIA actually employ people with her basic psychology & personality makeup then the espionage world is in serious trouble.She reminds me of a domestic abuse sufferer who continually makes excuses for the one they love even though there is no acceptable foundation for that excuse.
I have given 4 stars for the writing & the way the plot unravels but the premise of the story leaves me very uncomfortable,that I would give 1star.
I apologise now if I have offended anyone but this is honestly how the book made me feel.