This was a complicated, twisted narrative that reminded me of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan. It was complex and full of details that made the scope of this book seem grand. I was impressed by how much detail and intertwined plotlines the author managed to balance without losing the reader in the process.

What happens when you have to talk your burned CIA ex-husband into going back into the field? How do you manage him while figuring out which of your superiors is leaking information to the enemy? Meredith Morris-Dale is tasked with these decisions in this spy thriller from M. P. Woodward. While I don't often read spy novels, this one was entertaining. There were twists and turns and our heroine was a solid win. Recommended.

The Handler, by MP Woodward, is, hands down, the best espionage thriller I have read since Jon LeCarre's Tinker Tailor.

I've written ten espionage thrillers myself, so I'may be a decent judge of talent.

Woodward sets science with enough detail to satisfy this former spy.

I think you'll enjoy this one

This was an excellent story and I can say that the author walked the fine line between too many POVs and just enough. I was engaged all the way through and enjoyed every minute. I hope that this book is the first of many and I would love to see the characters in this universe engage in other adventures.

Intense, well-developed thriller that will keep you hooked from the very beginning! The Handler could definitely be made into a movie. Many moving parts and characters - this one was awesome.

The action in this riveting story caught my attention from the emotional and shocking first chapter! Written by a former Navy intelligence officer, the storyline is realistic and moves quickly! I was glad a description of the characters was provided at the beginning of the book because I found myself checking it a few times, but once I wrapped my mind around the action, I did not have a problem following the storyline. There is also a glossary at the end to help with the military and spy jargon; however, the author does a great job explaining the circumstances, backstories, missions, and military/spy terms.

This story reads like a Liam Neeson movie and I hope it is the beginning of a series! I loved the vibe between the main characters, Meredith and John Dale (formerly married)! I can’t wait to read more from this author.

My sincere thanks to @berkleypub, @netgalley, and @letstalkbookspromo for my advanced eARC of this book. My thoughts are my own.

This was an amazing and well written book. I enjoyed the thrill of it and it was one of those it totally could happen type of books that made it even better! It was a super intense action packed story that kept me wanting to read more and more. It was a perfect spy thriller type story with strong characters and multiple POVs that added to the story instead of distracted.
This is an excellent introduction to Woodward and I am excited to see what else we get from this talented author.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this early read. I do love a good spy thriller, especially in the summer while I am waiting for the new Daniel Silva to come out. The Handler by M.P. Woodward definitely filled the void for me. We open with Meredith Morris-Dale who is on her way home after a mission that has gone sideways. When she makes it to the office, she is given a new assignment – bring her disgraced ex-husband John Dale back into the spy business. It seems there has been a long-running operation with a mole inside an Iranian nuclear facility. This person has been spying for the US for many years – and preventing the Iranians from achieving full nuclear power. Now the spy wants out and will only talk to John. Meredith flies out to the west coast to visit John in her enforced retirement - he gives her an emphatic no. But just days after she leaves, John is attacked and he is on the run. It seems that someone is on to them, and now John fears for his asset so he reluctantly agrees to help. This spy thriller has it all – high stakes, international locations, tons of action and suspense, and plenty of good guys to root for. The author is a former intelligence officer, so the book rings true. If you like Daniel Silva, Dan Fesperman or Olen Steinhauer, then this book will be right up your alley.

This book straight up reads like a movie. For someone who will
watch Mr. and Mrs. Smith every single time it’s on I was sold on this high stakes political spy drama.
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Meredith Morris-Dale is a CIA case offer. She expects to be fired after a case goes wrong. What she doesn’t expect is a new assignment.
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John Dale wants out and he has one request, the only handler he ever trusted who happens to be his ex-wife.
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This was a compulsive spy thriller that I would love to see on the screen. One of my favorite things about spy movies or tv shows like #24 are the interpersonal relationships. This book gave that to us and then some! Side note: I am all about the glossary! I love that!
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Huge thank you to Bhc @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks and @dg_reads for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This review was originally posted on <a href="https://booksofmyheart.net/2022/06/07/the-handler-by-mp-woodward/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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<i>Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i>

<strong>The Handler</strong> is an espionage thriller.  The action and tension is suspenseful throughout.  Of course, I was rooting for the American team. The Russians seemed to be very skillful in their tactics and efficiently brutal.  The Middle Eastern characters seemed to be either religious zealots, or people caught unhappily in that world of zealots and violence.

The characters were well-developed but not easy to like.  Almost everything we know about them is their job, and not much else.  More personal layers would have maybe helped to better like the characters.  I didn't feel a sense of team or camaraderie. There was nothing to find humorous, only scary.

The Americans seemed a bit behind the curve but had some skills and extreme luck.  Meredith was handling her ex-husband but other than disliking her lazy, cheating boss wasn't really helpful to him until the end.

John, who was carrying out the mission, was super talented at fighting and staying off the radar.  He was suspicious about everything and that was smart. It saved him several times.  He seemed the most realistic and I could understand his reaction to being on this mission.

I enjoyed this intelligence thriller, although it was a bit long.  The details made it more believable.  It was exciting and I was on edge for several people's safety.

In a career that saw duties in Naval Intelligence, followed by US Intelligence operations, M.P.Woodward has seen a lot, probably more than he can talk about. But this, this was insane. This was a debut of epic proportions that is clearly pacing the field and will be sure to leave you amazed. Woodward defies logic of most debuts by creating cinematic quality on every page, and I hope this is the first of many knockout stories he gifts us.

Following the Iranian desire to increase production of ‘yellowcake’ to hold the necessary materials to create a nuclear weapon, Meredith Dale and former husband John are thrust into action. Meredith is recovering from the unfortunate failure of losing an asset in Dubai when the past comes calling. The man once run by John Dale, the supposed mole in Iranian centrifuge operations has reestablished communication and wants the one thing the CIA doesn’t, John.

John and Meredith have a meeting to discuss that his services are being requested, he doesn’t want to help. Case closed right? Wrong. As if his permanent vacation from the CIA couldn’t have been ruined anymore, he’s attacked on American soil by a foreign intelligence service. Things start to spin up quickly and you get to meet the not so smart team players that Meredith works with. Unbeknownst to the group, there are multiple spy agencies running operations against each other trying to find the suspected mole. The people that John and Meredith are trying to stay away from are always one step ahead which could lead to a potential all-out war between non-friendly countries. The United States, Iran, and Russia are all in a covert game of cat and mouse and it couldn’t be any better.

John Dale must fight for his life on the road to redemption with the CIA while trying to recover a former asset who is in the world's largest pickle. The amount of character background and development is perfect and the timeline and setup for the finale are brilliantly paced. The Dale’s face constant Jason Bourne style action and deceit with lives on the line. Woodward brings the heat in The Handler and will put a check in every box that you would expect from an experienced veteran author. Do not miss out on this one.

This novel is everything you wish for in a thrilling CIA debut novel. M. P. Woodward has done it right!

It took me a little while to get a handle on the characters, but the list at the front of the novel was so helpful. It included both the Americans, the Iranians, and the Russians. Highly recommend more books have these lists!

So once I got settled into the storyline, I was flying through the pages and the action- it seriously read like I was watching a Liam Neeson action thriller- think Taken on 2022 steroids!

The novel has a strong female lead- Meredith, and her ex-husband is a disgraced CIA op that has to come back to the field for one last mission- one he doesn’t want to be a part of and one that is from his distant past.

Immediately there is trouble as the Iranians and Russians are moving to make a nuclear arms deal, and of course time is of the essence. Only problem, there is a leak at almost every turn. Meredith and her ex, John have to think faster and stronger than the enemy, defy the odds, and somehow come out alive at the end.

There is mystery woven in amongst the characters and how they all connect, at times you as the reader know more than the characters, and at other times you are realizing it in the moment.

Woodward uses a lot of CIA thriller jargon and incorporates real locations, and plausible existences, problems, and systems- all of which make this such a believable read for our current times that I was devouring it!

Thank you @berkleypub for my #gifted copy of The Handler, I am starting my campaign now for this to become a SERIES, y’all because I need to know more about these characters. I found myself at the end needing to know how it all ends, but needing to know MORE.

5 star read y’all, highly recommend this one! It publishes May 31st, and you HAVE to let me know if you grab a copy!

I love a story with multiple points of view. I really enjoy having different avenues of ideas and characters to guess and try to solve as the plot thickens.
The Handler by M.P. Woodward has those elements that I love especially in an espionage thriller which is one of my favorite sub genres. I could not put this thriller down , it’s in my top debut books I’ve read so far this year. This book is exciting and full of characters and details that’ll keep you turning them pages.

Meredith, a CIA agent, is tasked with convincing John, a disgraced former CIA operative, to exfiltrate a mole from Iran’s uranium enrichment program. The mole has only ever trusted John to be his handler, but Meredith has her work cut out for her since John just happens to be her ex-husband.

The Handler by M.P. Woodward was a highly enjoyable, action-packed, pulse-pounding spy thriller! I never knew who to trust, and the twists just kept coming! Meredith and John’s interactions added depth and emotion, and the multiple POVs made the story even more intriguing. It was a bit difficult to keep track of everyone and their respective organizations, but the detailed Cast of Characters and the Glossary were very helpful. As a former intelligence officer, Woodward is clearly knowledgeable about the world of espionage, making this book realistically disturbing. It was an impressive debut, and I look forward to more from this author!

If you like espionage and spy thrillers this is a great pick. Dale and Meth are likable and easy to root for and I have to admit it was hard not to hope the two main characters would ultimately reunite. Keeping track of the Russian and Iranian people and situations was a bit difficult at first but as you got to know those characters it got easier to follow.

Who doesn’t love a good spy thriller? I do, especially if they are as good as this one, The Handler by M.P. Woodward. I should read more of these, especially if Woodward writes them.
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This was a smart, action packed thriller that left some room for suspense and anticipation. I got so involved with this story that the dryer buzzer made me jump, I’d forgotten I was at home doing laundry and not actually an undercover operative working with and against this great group of characters. The writing drew me in from the first chapter.
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I loved that there was a handy cast of characters laid out at the front of the book, It was helpful in keeping the characters straight, who were the good guys and who were the bad guys, with so many twists it was sometimes tough to tell. I loved that, it kept me guessing and trying to get ahead of the plot, I never did.
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The main characters are ex-husband and ex- wife which adds a whole new layer to this story. It is written so realistically that I often had to pause to contemplate “what if”. But I didn’t pause long, I was always anxious to get back to this book.
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If you need a thrill, some candescent, action packed espionage with some evil Russian interference as well, this book is for you.

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Meredith Morris-Dale is a Handler for the CIA. She is ordered back to DC after her current asset is snatched, expecting to be in trouble, instead she is told she needs to convince her ex-husband John Dale to return to the CIA to help extract a former contact in Iran. Complicated doesn't begin to cover her feelings toward having to see her ex. They met when she was his Handler, fell in love, married and had a daughter. After he is suspended from the CIA they end up divorcing. Due to the circumstances of his suspension she knows he's not going to be willing to come back, especially with her boss, Ed Rance, involved. She gets the expected response but after he discovers someone tailing him in town and then finds a sniper on his property he agrees to return but only if she is his Handler and Rance is not in the loop of his whereabouts. His former contact in Iran,, Zana Rahimi, is a nuclear physicist whose daughter was killed in a plane crash caused by a misfired Iranian missile. To complicate things even more, the Russians are monitoring things and on Meredith & John's trail.

Sometimes spy thrillers are too long or too technical. This one was neither. I stayed on the edge of my seat and didn't want to stop reading. When you see the cast of characters you think, 'that's so many people to keep up with' but the story is so well laid out that I didn't have any trouble with it.

M.P. Woodward's The Handler, is the story about a disgraced former CIA operative who must go back in the field with only his ex-wife as his handler in this electrifying thriller from a former intelligence officer. The novel has all the action of The Gray Man with the personal dynamics of Karen Cleveland's Need to Know. If you've been reading any news lately, except the Monkeypox, or the economy, or the price of gas, or the cost of food, or baby formula shortages, you know that the Iranian nuclear program is one of the most important challenges facing the West today.

Thanks to Russia and China's antagonism towards the West, especially the US, it will only grow in prominence over the coming years. Iran also holds a strategic place in the Middle East because of their oil reserves, and because they are a state sponsor of terrorists groups like Hezbollah. This story hits on several recent events that saw Iran shoot down an Ukrainian airliner, as well as the US killing a General who had been responsible for hundreds of US military lives in Iraq.

This story starts with a heart breaking event when the daughter of an Iranian scientist is killed about the airliner. Said Iranian is also a spy working for the CIA trying to keep his country from making nuclear weapons. Key Characters: Meredith Morris-Dale, John Dale, Ed Rance, Maria Borbova, Zana Rahimi, and Kasim Kahlidi.

CIA agent Meredith Morris-Dale, of the Counter-Proliferation Division, finds herself recalled to Langley after a botched operation in Dubai. Waiting to hear the words that will end her career, she’s taken aback when a priority mission is thrust into her hands. Instead of running assets in foreign lands, she's tasked with an infinitely more challenging task handling a disgraced agent, who also happens to be her ex husband. A CIA mole in Iran’s uranium enrichment program wants out, but he demands that he will only work with John, the only handler he ever trusted. The Russians and Iranians aren't playing. They'll do anything to stop Meredith and John from succeeding.

5 years ago, John was held hostage by ISIS, but managed to escape. On his return, he's accused of being a traitor for having contact with a foreign operative who was also held. You can imagine why Dale would be reluctant and bitter, feeling it was a superior’s incompetence and malfeasance that got him axed in disgrace. Shortly after Meredith's departure from his Washington home, a Russian Special Forces hit team tries to gain access to the info that Meredith left for him. After John faces a life and death struggle, he choose to accept coming back to work but only with Meredith as his handler.

The novel continues from several points-of-view, including a beautiful female Russian agent and assassin; a lieutenant colonel with the Iranian Quds forces: a branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and Cerberus himself, among others. As Meredith and John struggle through their fraught relationship, a craven CIA political hierarchy with leaks like a sieve, Russian interference, and the rogue spy's manipulation, they must reach deep within their shared connection to maintain, recover, or kill the asset.

The tradecraft felt authentic and this is likely due to the author’s intelligence background. The novel takes readers from Virginia to Iran to Iraq to Turkey to the United Arab Emirates. One of the things that you will definitely feel is that this is ripped from the headlines, and everything that happens, can and likely has happend. It's why I am curious to see that the publisher has stated that there is a sequel in the works.

I received a gifted galley of THE HANDLER by M.P. Woodward for an honest review. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

Publication Date: 5/31/2022
THE HANDLER starts with a plane being shot down. On board is a young woman who is the daughter of one of the CIA’s long term moles. The mole’s role is to work from within Iran’s uranium enrichment program to keep them from getting a bomb developed. In the wake of his loss, he wants out.

Meredith is a CIA agent who is brought in after a mission went wrong. Where she expects to be let go, it turns out she has extra value to the agency. The Iranian mole is only willing to work with one person, Meredith’s ex-husband who was dismissed from the CIA in a less than ideal series of events. Meredith is tasked to bring her ex back online in order to work things out.

I don’t often pick up this type of thriller read, so I didn’t know what to expect when I picked this book up. I though that the author did a fantastic job of drawing me into the story with the opening chapter. We follow the daughter and get inside her head as she prepares for her future getting on board the plane that is destined to be shot down. We also hear directly from her mother who helplessly watches on.

The interplay between ex-wife and ex-husband also makes for an interesting twist on the typical espionage story. There are layers of their relationship and their family which both connect and push them apart. I enjoyed having this extra element on top of the action of the bigger story. I will say that there were a lot of characters and at times I did struggle to keep track of who was who, but I didn't find that slowed me down in the overall story.

THE HANDLER is out today and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a fun spy thriller!

The Handler by M.P. Woodward is an exhilarating and suspenseful spy novel featuring Meredith Morris-Dale, a CIA case officer and John Dale, Meredith’s ex-husband and disgraced former CIA operative. A CIA mole in Iran’s uranium enrichment program wants out, but he demands that he will only work with John, the only handler he ever trusted. Will Meredith be able to convince John to take on the assignment, let alone successfully exfiltrate the mole?

The multiple points of view are effective in giving great perceptions of the other characters and their situations. Readers gradually gain knowledge of how each character connects to the story line and each other. This adds depth and complexity. While Meredith and John provide the main points of view, several antagonists and secondary characters are also featured. Several are flawed in some way, but that only made them feel more realistic. There is a handy character list at the beginning of the book.

The premise of the story felt all too real to me, making it thought provoking and believable. From the shocking prologue to the tension-filled middle to the action-filled conclusion, this story captivated me. The author has created an adrenaline-fueled work of spy fiction with plenty of action and thrills. This well-written novel has an absorbing plot that builds suspense and is memorable. It features deception, trust, betrayal, deaths, and espionage. Blending these with political hierarchy within the CIA, and Iran’s military structure and Russian interference makes for a spellbinding tell. The author is an excellent storyteller who kept me on the edge of my seat and rapidly turning the pages. He balanced the suspense aspects of the novel against the intrigue and action scenes. There are plot twists that provide some startling moments in the story. The tradecraft felt authentic and this is likely due to the author’s intelligence background. The novel takes readers from Virginia to Iran to Iraq to Turkey to the United Arab Emirates. My one quibble was with the world-building, which didn’t give me a good feeling for the locations at times.

Overall, this book was intense, fast-paced, action-oriented, and a powerful page-turner. This novel should delight those readers that enjoy spy thrillers that have strong male and female characters, intense fight scenes, and an absorbing plot. If you are looking for action, drama, and tension, this book will provide it. A few threads could provide story lines for future novels. This debut is excellent and I’m looking forward to reading more by this author.

Berkley Publishing Group – Berkley and M.P. Woodward provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for May 31, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.