The Collaborators
An exhilarating debut spy thriller, packed with explosive action and up-to-the-minute tradecraft
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- USD 6.99
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- USD 6.99
Publisher Description
A brilliant young intelligence officer and a troubled heiress stumble into a global conspiracy that pits present-day Russia against the CIA in this electrifying, globetrotting spy thriller.
Combining realistic thrills with sophisticated spycraft and witty dialogue, The Collaborators delivers a gut-punch answer to the biggest geopolitical question of our time. How exactly did post-Soviet Russia turn down the wrong path?
Criss-crossing the globe on the way to this shocking revelation are disaffected millennial CIA officer Ari Falk, thrown into a moral and professional crisis by the death of his best asset, and brash, troubled LA heiress Maya Chou, spiralling after the disappearance of her Russian American billionaire father. The duo’s adventures take us to both classic and surprising locales – from Berlin and Tangier to Latvia, Belarus and a semi-abandoned technopark outside Moscow.
Dynamic, fast-paced and filled with captivating details that provide a window into a secretive world, The Collaborators is a first-rate thriller that pays homage to both meanings of ‘intelligence’.
‘A terrific espionage thriller with a propulsive plot and fantastic twists, but what really sets this book apart is the writing, sparkling on every page’ Chris Pavone, New York Times bestselling author of The Expats and Two Nights in Lisbon
‘Crackles with energy as it veers between international caper and more classic espionage thriller, laced with the promise of romance. Idov . . . brings a pleasing cinematic sweep, insider knowledge of Russia and sharp dialogue to this enjoyable tale as it roams around the world’ Financial Times
‘Gathers stories from the headlines – novichok, Ponzi schemes, Wagner Group mercenaries – and blends them into a hipster spy smoothie’ The Times, Book of the Month
‘A skilful story about manipulative spymasters in Russia and the United States. . . . Switching perspectives and continents and written with vivid intelligence, this is a great example of the international spy novel’ Literary Review
‘Idov breathes fresh air into [the genre] . . . A sparkling new voice in spy thrillers’ CrimeTime
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The search for a missing hedge fund manager with ties to Russian intelligence animates screenwriter Idov's bumpy fiction debut (after the memoir Dressed Up for a Riot). At the center of the action is CIA officer Ari Falk, who's investigating the likely murder of one of his prized assets, a Russian blogger who was taken off a passenger jet during an unplanned stop in Latvia and never seen again. Falk eventually connects that case to the disappearance of billionaire financier Paul Obrandt, who recently jumped from the back of his yacht off the coast of Portugal. Paul's daughter, Maya, is looking for her dad, not out of love but out of a suspicion that he staged his own death. She and Falk team up, repressing their mutual attraction as they trace Obrandt's trail across Eastern Europe to Moscow, where they learn of his links to Russia's military intelligence agency. Idov, whose TV credits include the espionage series Deutschland 89, shows promise in his transition to the page—the details of the tradecraft feel especially authentic—but the action lurches along at an awkward shuffle, with a few too many time-lapses, and it all culminates in an unconvincing finale. It's a letdown.
