The Spy and The Traitor -- by Ben MacIntyre

 

The best plotting was by the MI6 and MI5 people in diligently helping Oleg Gordievsky defect to the UK, despite his KGB colleagues, and the certain execution that he would have faced.

The background was very educational, even if you lived through the Cold War, and saw every spy movie ever made. So many little, but important things were covered in Ben MacIntyre's book -- one of many espionage books he has written. Near the end, he notes that almost all of those mentioned were given aliases because they are still living, and their lives could still be jeopardized. 

Gordievsky, who also adopted an alias, unfortunately, saw his second marriage collapse after finally seeing his wife and daughters join him in England. 

His escape was worthy of the fiction-based spy movies. He had to meet his UK contacts by following a strict, and uncomfortable, schedule. He had to strip down to his underwear, and silently ride in a sweaty car trunk across the Finnish border. That journey took him all the way up to northernmost Norway. A plane then flew him to England. 

Evading an already suspicious KGB first in Moscow was another hair-raising adventure, too. 

The information he shared and brought with him proved highly valuable to leaders in the UK, and the U.S. in dealing with the USSR. They could understand Kremlin viewpoints. Not all spies can acquire that type of perspective. Vladimir Putin was mentioned several times.

The Spy and the Traitor was a good read, conservatively taking eight and a half points of ten.

Deadline -- by Sandra Brown

 

Clever, clever, clever, and not overworked.

Author Sandra Brown's Deadline sucks the reader in, leading to some surprises in the final chapters. The clever plotting nicely sets you up for the entertainment awaiting. I don't want to spoil everything. It's that good. There were possibly three or four words or phrases that halted me for an instant, but there were no other distractions...

Except.

"That's Headly!"

Harvey Korman's immortal words from Blazing Saddles have been dancing and strutting in my head since Headly, the godfather/FBI character entered. I still see and hear that bouncing from the left brain and back to the right brain, again and again.

So much for the empty spaces.

Personally, I also appreciated the Savannah and nearby island story local. I live a little over an hour's drive and have a general working knowledge of that area. Under better circumstances, I would know it much better than I do. The author is also originally from very close to where my parents live in Texas, and her surname could land her in a more familial association. However, those are only superfluous in reading a really good book.

This one managed to take me to the nearby Atlantic beaches that elude me too much, and into a bit of Savannah where I seldom have the chance to visit. It was good, fast-moving, continuous content with many good storytelling elements. I found myself frequently reading straight through the chapter breaks. One could follow it with a notepad full of points young, ambitious writers should consider.

Some people might notice by now that I don't waste time on poor books unless I need part of it for research in my works in progress. Life is definitely not too short for Deadline, wrapped around a magazine journalist's quest for a great story, learning much more than he ever bargained for.