I received an ARC from NetGalley to read and review. The below is my honest, unbiased opinion. Thank you Karen Cleveland, the publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to review.

This book follows Vivian Miller, a dedicated CIA counterintelligence analyst, who is assigned to uncover the leaders of Russian sleeper cells in the United States. During her pursuit, she uncovers a dangerous secrets that tests her loyalties to both the agency and to her family.

NEED TO KNOW has it all: a unique storyline, love and loyalty, Russia sleeper cell agents, fast-paced plot, dynamic characters, well-written thematics, loads of suspense, and twists that keep you guessing. The reader should look forward to a sequel, as this novel does end on a cliffhanger. This is my first Karen Cleveland novel, and she did not disappoint! This was a thoroughly compelling psychological thriller novel, and I recommend it to anyone interested in a good thriller or novels about sleeper cells. This unputdownable novel gets five easy stars.

There is a notation on the description page of this book indicating that the screen rights have already been sold. Reading the book I must say that it would be a big surprise if it wasn't destined for screening. I finished the novel in one mesmerized sitting and my opinion is that it will not be possible to leave it once started for anyone picking it up. Karen Cleveland spent nine years working for the CIA and is certainly expert in presenting a book with the lead character working for the agency.
Vivian Miller is a CIA analyst who has been assigned to uncovering the leaders of Russian sleeper cells operating in the United States. She has developed a system that has made her very effective in the work she does. Much to her surprise when discovering photos of one sleeper leader's agents she comes across a person well known to her. Her oath stresses the need to protect the US against all enemies both foreign and domestic but she is placed in a terrible quandary. Can she go ahead and expose what she has found or protect someone very close to her? To make a bad situation worse her family is threatened if she doesn't do what she is told to do by the leader of the cell she has found. Death threats are issued if Vivian does not allow the Russians access to CIA files with her husband and children being singled out.
Ms Cleveland utilizes a very effective literary style with the novel gaining velocity as it moves towards the ending. And the ending is one very well appropriate and logical climax for the book. I certainly feel that any reader of "Need to Know" will join me in waiting for her next book with bated breath.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced review of this book. Where do I start? This book is about a female CIA analyst who uncovers some Russian sleeper cells in the USA. Her discovery leads to threats within her job and family as well as betrayals with noone to trust. I don't want to say anything else so I don't spoil it but i highly recommend this book. Many twists and turns and i was blown away by the ending. This is one movie that i will definitely see at the theatre when it comes out. I can't wait!!!

Thank you NetGalley for this opportunity! I started reading this book on a Saturday morning and I couldn't put it down the entire weekend. I have always been a fan of spy movies and this is telling a story from the other side. How do you trust someone that you love when you find out that they have lied to you for 10 years? If someone threatened your family would you betray your country? These are just a couple of the things that the main character, Vivian, has to struggle with. And the ending... I don't want to give away anything but let's just say that this is one of those books that you finish and then sit there thinking "What just happened??". This book is a must read!

WOW! Just WOW! A unique storyline, a character driven plot, high suspense, twists galore: CAN NOT get better than all that! Thematic issues of love and loyalty to one's family and conscience. The denouement is incredibly satisfying! A bit lacking in character development, but the riveting plot more than makes up for that! Plan on reading it on a day (and night) when you have no responsibilities because the novel is un-put-downable! It is THAT good! Looking forward to a sequel as the reader is left with a delicious cliffhanger!

Rather than relying on the action spy thriller format of Brad Thor, Vince Flynn, Ben Coes, Alex Berenson, and Tom Clancy (all of whom I love), Cleveland’s approach is a splendid, delicious, and unique story angle that keeps us, through virtually the whole book, inside the main character’s head. No bombs blasting, no machine guns firing, no IEDs going off, yet, every bit as thrilling. It’s different , delightfully so, and every bit as good.

Initially the use of the first person was off putting to me – for about 2 pages. Then I quickly got in to this thriller that is unlike any out there today.

Cleveland is able to capture and firmly hold the reader’s interest. The twists and turns this story takes couldn’t be followed any other way than the way she expertly handles them – by letting us “hear” the main character’s thinking process and the horrifying choices they have to evaluate.

This was not at all what I expected. What a smartly written book!

Need to Know was a very odd read for me. It was as if I was reading two separate books. Book one was a fast driven race car. A Formula One page turner. Book two was a confusing mess. Who is everyone?

From a technical standpoint Karen Cleveland knows how to write. There is a lot of internal dialog explaining what the character, Viv Miller, is going through with each revelation. I appreciated the looking back in her history with her husband that explained what she was doing in the present. It did become a bit repetitive with people asking her if she was okay but this is a minor issue for me. Although there is the backwards/forwards aspect to the story it does not bog it down at any point.

From a character perspective the book is messy. Viv is weak as a person, as in no spine to do what would appear to be the right thing. EARLY IN THE BOOK SPOILER ALERT. Her husband is a Russian sleeper agent who targeted her as a source, marries her, has 4 children with her and yet she still has a trust in him that seems beyond comprehension. Everything points to him putting Russia before his family. She needs to protect her children, her country, but why her husband? Just didn't gel all that well. Had Viv gotten stronger due to adversity the story line and her character would have been more compelling. The book also has a fairytale ending.

I see a good writer in Karen Cleveland. I would read any subsequent efforts from her. Her characters just need more flesh and growth.

I finished this book within 24 hours of starting it. And now that I'm done I'm praying there is a second book in the making. This was absolutely phenomenal writing. The author made me feel the feels of the main character and the ending leaves so many unanswered questions but in all the right ways. I was hooked!

Gripping and impossible to put down.
Vivian's world flipped one day, and the life she knew no longer exists. From that moment on, high tension dominates, and the 'need to know' how it's going to end is the only reigning looming emotion. Not one moment of boredom. The writing, the plot, the characters, I loved the whole package. Beautiful work!

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House, I was able to enjoy this story.

What a great book! It grabs your attention and keeps it until the very end. It was impossible to put down. The plot is gripping and completely plausible, which is what makes the book so engrossing.

I don't want to give away any spoilers, but the the main character works for the CIA, and ends up making decisions that made me question what I would have done if I were in a similar situation.

This is a must read book, and I highly recommend it.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. I could not put this book down. The author had me hooked on the first page. I felt the anguish of the heroine in her struggle for the correct definition of loyalty. The subject matter is timely which made the plot all the more realistic. The twists towards the end were very well positioned and now I need a day before starting another book to digest the ending.

Outstanding! I couldn't stop until I finished! The reader really understands what Vivian is thinking and why she does what she does. So I was surprised time and again! Amazing book!

Need to Know is a very well written book with a super good plot. I enjoyed this book and the author's writing style.

Karen Cleveland ‘s Need To Know is definitely a need to read novel. It is a superb thriller set in our nation’s capital. It involves Russians… and spies… and the CIA. Those three separate topics always leads to some kind of controversy and debate, but together they make for an intriguing plot that results in an engaging emotional novel. You will not be disappointed with this read.

Vivian Miller works long hours but, thank heavens, for her reliable work-at-home husband. He has dinner ready when she gets home, takes the kids to school and has always supported her advancement as a CIA analyst. Vivian’s current project, pluming the murky depths of Russian sleeper agents, has become an obsession. Her success at identifying these illusive cells could result in a desperately needed promotion.
​
Vivian is getting close. As she delves into a suspected Russian spy’s computer files, she comes across a folder with five photographs of ordinary looking Americans who fit the perfect profile for embedded plants. She flips through the pictures until she lands on one that freezes her in her tracks. In that moment, her job, country, her family and all that matters to her becomes precarious.

I stayed up late reading this one. Not only does it make you wonder about the strangers you pass on the street, it makes you question the people you know. High stakes suspense right up to the end!

As an ESL tutor, many of my students come from Russia.
They will love this book, and it will stimulate lots of discussion !
The book presents a moral dilema and it is interesting to see how it is resolved.
The style of flashbacks to provide basis for the story makes this a compelling read

Need to Know by Karen Cleveland

A pox on you, Ms. Cleveland, you’re the reason I’m bleary eyed today! Did you have to write such an engrossing novel? I began reading an ARC of Need to Know yesterday evening and I just could not put it down. Nonstop excitement, believable characters, suspense, twists you don’t see coming, this novel has it all. I’ll keep the synopsis minimal as it would be a crime to give anything away, suffice it to say it’s set in the Washington, D.C.and the CIA.

I loved this book! Highly recommended.


ARC provided by NetGalley. My opinion is my own.

I had trouble putting this one down. It is easy to imagine oneself in a woman's shoes who stands to lose her entire life as she knows it if she doesn't do this "one thing". Usually I feel impatient with indecisive female characters, but this one had every right to be! Despite this, she did use the knowledge she had gained in her early training for the FBI to take some decisive actions. Nevertheless, the ending is chilling.