Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

The Unexpected Spy is the informative, intriguing story of Tracy Walder’s personal and professional experiences, successes, struggles, and accomplishments as a CIA SOO, FBI Special Agent, and beloved history teacher at an all girl’s school.

The writing is clear and precise. The characters are intelligent, focused, and driven. And the novel is a compelling, fascinating, introspective tale of one woman’s life as a covert operative in the wake of 9/11.

The Unexpected Spy is, ultimately, part memoir, part spy novel that is full of valuable, insightful information into counterterrorism and the roles and efforts of counterintelligence agencies worldwide.

An approachable memoir written by a former CIA and FBI officer. It presents an inside view of the both the good and bad aspects of CIA and FBI cultures.

This is the true story of Tracy Walder. This is her story of how she went from being in college to being in the CIA. She tells her tale and it reads more like a spy novel than a real story. This was a fun and very interesting read.

Let me just say first that it is a breath of fresh air to see a spy memoir written by a woman in the market right now. With that said I was interested to see how much of the memoir would be redacted since she worked for the FBI and CIA. While there were redactions it was not as bad as I thought it would be.

I love memoirs. I love getting to be a fly on the wall of their life. They are hard to review from the standpoint that this is a life they led. In this case, Tracy Walder's life. She wasn't my favorite person to read about and since the book is her life it is hard to come to a good rating for this one.

This was an incredible story! I usually shy away from nonfiction, but upon learning about this remarkable young woman, it was impossible not to want to learn more about it. Everyone fancies themselves a spy, but would they have what it takes? Well, this lady certainly did! I am so glad we get to hear/read her story!

This was just not for me. I wasn't a fan of the writing style and the fact that so much of the narrative was redacted just made this jarring to read. I couldn't get interested in it because as soon as something intriguing happened, it was redacted. There was a lot in this about being a blonde woman in the Middle East or being a sorority sister, it just didn't feel like something I was enjoying at any point.

I did not enjoy this one sadly. It did not hold my attention. I may just not have been in the right place at the time to properly read and enjoy this book.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I found this book difficult to read. It was boring and lacking in character. It should have been a documentary. Unfortunately about halfway through I just could not make read any further. A disappointment.

i really enjoyed reading Ms. Walder's story, it was really interesting to read. The stories were great and interesting and I'm looking forward to more from the author.

The first half of this book was super interesting and I was totally engaged in how she became part of the CIA and seeing how she was involved in the first part of her career. Definite kudos to her for getting to where she was. However, the second half of the book really started to drag as it just seemed like a list of other cases with too much information redacted that took away from the interest. It also seemed to get preachy and self promoting; a totally different vibe from the beginning. Also, this is much more an dry autobiography than a "story" of her life.

The Unexpected Spy: From the CIA to the FBI, My Secret Life Taking Down Some of the World’s Most Notorious Terrorist.

The Unexpected Spy falls into a group of books that former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officers have published about their experiences in the war on terror. The Unexpected Spy takes a novel twist with the author Tracy Walder deciding to leave the CIA and enter the world of law enforcement as a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agent.

As required of all CIA employees, the CIA has redacted sensitive areas of the book and rather than rewriting parts of the story Walder follows the lead of other intelligence community writers by leaving the areas redacted enact. The reader is left to imagine what is missing from the writer’s story.

Her story is exceptional in that she overcame childhood health problems to qualify for both agencies.

Walder entered the agency in the days prior to 9/11 and become totally engulfed in the war on terrorism. However, her story lacks the seriousness taken by most CIA officers posted overseas especially in hostile environments. As an example, Walder talks about wearing a red tuxedo-like outfit while traveling to an undisclosed location. She describes it saying, “she was confident in this suit…” however this breaks basic tradecraft of an operative to blend with the environment. Although it may make her feel confident it makes her rememberable to spotters in the airport as she disembarked from the plane and moved through the airport. An area always under surveillance by local law enforcement and intelligence officers.

After writing about her work with CIA, trips overseas, and meeting with other nation intelligence officers she begins describing her entry into the FBI and her entry into the new agent class at the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia. Walder’s description of her time at Quantico shows an extreme adversarial relationship between the FBI special agents and Walder as a former CIA officer. After 9/11 both agencies began working closer and Walder said that the FBI agents she met while working at CIA were “weren’t that bad.” However, the instructors she describes seem to be from the days when the agencies did not cooperate. She explains how she was accused of lying about being a CIA operative and harassed with instructors singling her out for being a former CIA officer.

The instructors appear to have targeted Walder both in the classroom but also in personnel matters. She was not allowed to miss one day of training to attend her grandfather’s funeral while a male student in a comparable situation was allowed a week off. She was also counseled by the instructor staff for wearing a suit to class, one that she routinely wore at CIA offices, for being distracting to one of the instructors. Later she talks about the number of female special agents that have filed Equal Opportunity suits against the government for similar harassment at Quantico.

After receiving her first choice of field offices, she continued to have issues moving through the probationary years of a street agent. As a female agent, she was often made the “babysitter” when either children or women subjects were present during search warrant operations She soon realized that the life of a street agent includes a lot of non-glamorous tasks like dumpster diving and sorting garbage for evidence. Walder explains that she wanted more and after 15 months decided to leave the FBI.

Walder gives the reader a look into the world and work of both intelligence and law enforcement operatives. She ends the book with her new the purpose of “stop bitching, start the revolution.”

“The FBI poured gasoline on a tiny flame that was burning in my heart…I had to stop bitching and start my revolution.”

The book is an enjoyable read in telling Walder’s life story but provides limited insight into the workings of the intelligence community and counterterrorism.

It took me a while to get into this true story of Tracy Walder's experiences in the CIA and FBI. Once I got going I kept flashing to Kerry from the Homeland cable series. It seemed to be written based on these memoirs.
The author takes us through her college indoctrination into the CIA and the experiences of women in terrorist countries. She recounts her wanting something better for girls and women. She touches on the background dealings of the aftermath of 911. She lets us follow her on her training to become an FBI Agent all the while seeking her true passion. It was a very interesting read and it gave me a lot to think about male dominated work places. At times the story and Tracy did not seem real as she recounts her FBI days and what took place with the instructors.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers.

ARC was received from NetGalley and Publishers for a honest review.

Tracy Walder''s The Unexpected Spy was a fascinating memoir detailing how a sorority girl became a CIA operative and eventually a FBI special agent. I wasn't sure what to expect going into it, but was pleasantly surprised with how engaging and inspiring it was. The book did take a bit of time to get into it but I'm glad I stayed with it as it was definitely worth it in the end.

One can see why many would not consider a woman to be a spy, particularly as movies and television shows almost alway cast spies as male. Tracy had to face discrimination and sexual abuse when she entered first the CIA and later the FBI.

She was born with ‘floppy baby syndrome’ and only by perseverance did she manage to walk. I think this helped her to become a very strong and focused young lady. Straight after college she entered the CIA and engaged in major missions. She later worked for the FBI, but became fed up with the continued discrimination.

So she became a teacher in an all girls school where her life experiences enabled her to engage in meaningful learning.

An excellent book that reads more like a novel and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Tracy Walder Thank you for sharing your story here. This is a remarkable story of a bright intelligent young women in college recruited by the CIA . She documents her training under sexist misogynist abusive men, her work in terror and her journey fighting terrorist after 9/11. She learned early on to be her own champion in the CIA. not to trust her superiors and proceeded through her career with courage and patriotism. She utilized her training with professionalism and great ability to rise to whatever challenges were required . Once she left the CIA she choose to teach Americans new spy's a very admirable profession. This is very engaging story of what goes on behind the scenes of the CIA . I highly recommend this book for your reading enjoyment for all who enjoy reading American history and about the CIA. Review cross posted.

This memoir covers Tracy Walder’s career in the CIA as a counterterrorist operative, in the FBI where she encountered sexism and discrimination, and her dream job teaching American history at an all-girl’s school in Texas. Tracy went from being a sorority girl at USC to the CIA, where she specialized in Middle Eastern terror cells and demonstrated her determination and single-minded focus on stopping further terror attacks. Tiring of the constant travel and pressure, she applied at the FBI, was accepted, but was bullied and ostracized by her classmates, who took their cues from the instructors. Though delighted to be accepted at the Santa Ana field office, close to home, she quit the FBI after fifteen months. Tracy then became a teacher, hoping that her students will manage to change the world and make it a kinder and safer place.

I enjoyed this glimpse into Tracy’s life, and was fascinated at her adventures in the Middle East. Her claim of harsh treatment by her FBI instructors doesn’t surprise me; I had assumed that the FBI was full of old men who believed they were superior to younger women. I appreciated her desire to make the world safe from terrorism, and agree that teaching young women how to recognize the threats around them is a worthwhile cause.

Almost DNFed this early on but I'm glad I didn't. It gets off to a rough start--even with the author's note that explains why many passages are redacted at the CIA's behest--it still makes swaths of the book dissatisfying to read. You'll get to a juicy bit and--redacted! That plus in her first few chapters, Walder's descriptions of herself are A Bit Much. She takes delight in really paying up the sorority girl angle and I wasn't sure I could read a whole book by that person... but I forged on and she's not that person at all! Wish she hadn't OPENED with "got blind drunk on my birthday and crawled into my trunk and drunk-dialed my dad!" Once I pushed past the very beginning, Tracy became a more relatable person whose story I enjoyed. I was truly rooting for her by the end.

This is a good book if you're curious about the process of being recruited to/trained at the CIA, as well as the FBI. It gives an interesting glimpse of counter-terrorism in the years following September 11, though as mentioned a lot is redacted. Still I had fun trying to guess the locations (Walder obscures details/changes things around per the author's note)/match her stories to history. It definitely gave me an appreciation of the CIA (and the opposite effect, re: FBI), and the context for the War in Iraq is definitely stomach-turning. Walder was right there--and she's frank, re: the intelligence she and her team uncovered and the facts.

I enjoyed the characters of Walder's world--many were vivid, and stirred up big emotions. I don't know how she kept her cool in some of the situations she encountered, especially with the sexism/misogyny she faced. The entire FBI/Quantico training section made my blood boil. It has a lovely, inspirational finish. Definitely a nice slice of life--if you're fascinated by what it's really like to work in the CIA/FBI, in counter-terrorism, and particularly as a young woman, I recommend this. A quick, diverting read.

The unexpected spy took us into a world of intrigue and dangerous encounters to keep Americans safe. There were parts of this book I found so intriguing I could hardly pull myself from it while there were other parts that had me skimming through. Overall, a rather good book.