David McCloskey's 'Moscow X' is very much a modern-day James Bond style spy thriller.
The action starts at the very outset and barely lets up. It will not disappoint those who like fast-moving plots. However, from time to time my easily befuddled brain struggled to cope with the numerous characters and plot components that otherwise serve to give this interest and impetus.
A commendable action thriller.
Thank you to Swift Press and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I had not read the 1st book in this CIA thriller series, but this did not affect my enjoyment of the book. It pertains to a modern Russia, with Putin in power, but with the sinister threat that Russian intelligence has always instilled.

The CIA believes they have a way to get to Putin’s private banker– through the man’s wife, Anna. She is stunning, smart and absolutely hates her husband, so could be a good option. But she is also a real piece of work and not malleable unless it suits her.

Revolving around Russian oligarchs, Sia, a lawyer and operative is pulled into the plot and has to partner up with Max. They have to work in an atmosphere whereby each other knows who each other is and tries to outwit and wield a successful plot to their own means. It is a good insight into espionage, with an intense and at times very violent cat and mouse game. It kept me intrigued but maybe not gripped as the pace did tend to be a little slow for this type of genre, with a plot that was quite convoluted. It provided lots of tension at keys parts of the story and is a worthy read. Scope for characters to develop and the sharpen the approach in future books.

This book is dense and a slow burner. If you want a fast paced thriller this isn't for you. This is heavy on the details and light on the action. Overall not a bad book but it takes it time to get going and I found myself not loving the characters. Book 1 was slow to start but then picked dup and you began to really like the characters. The likability factor is missing here for some reason nd I can't put my finger on why.

A good decent read but not a page turner.

Really gripping page-turner of a story! I was hooked from the first pages. Really tense drama with lots of twists and turns. Terrifying action inside Putin's Russia. Highly recommended.

Espionage novels of any era are very much my bag so you wouldn't be wrong in thinking that David McCloskey's Moscow X was leaning on an open door with me. I read a few Charles Cummings novels last year and this is easily the equal of any of them.

In the afterword the author notes that Russia's war on Ukraine compelled him to rewrite the book in parts, but its setting (and the occasional references to the invasion) gives it a contemporary, ripped from the headlines style that really appreciated.

All the main characters had well fleshed out back stories and the plot is sufficiently well put together to keep you guessing about their respective fates until very close to the conclusion. All in all, I heartily recommend it to fans of the genre. I shall certainly be keeping an eye out for David McCloskey in the future.

Stunning book, such interesting setting and characters I was so looking forward to reading his new novel and am so grateful to have access. . Thank you.

Unfortunately, I was unable to download this book before it was archived and so am leaving this as a review/explanation as I didn't know what else to do after finding a few books I had managed to miss in a section of my account entitled Not Active: Archived, Not Downloaded; so I thought it best to clear it up. I have already bought a copy and will leave a review on places like Amazon, Goodreads, Waterstones, etc, once I've completed it and formed my thoughts on it. Apologies for any inconvenience and thank you for the opportunity.

A stylish thriller, Moscow X revolves around Max and Sia, undercover CIA agents trying to infiltrate Putin’s financial works and cause chaos in the Kremlin. The action ranges from Virginia to Moscow, via a Mexican horse ranch. Who can be trusted?

Thank you to the publisher W W Norton for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Frequently, the what appear to be over-the-top plaudits that others use when reviewing books is enough to make me wonder if I should even bother! Well, here are a few plaudits from me and I believe that they are all applicable. Buttock-clenching, exciting, edge-of-seat, "is this really fiction", totally believable and that well worn one - "unputdownable".

I loved this book from page one to page last and it really did leave me wondering how much of its fiction is actually fact. I cannot think of a way to explain this other than to suggest you read this book for yourself and count how many times you nod your head in agreement with the way that politics mix with people and mix with fear.

A saga involving power struggles of a Russian Oligarch to eliminate a rival by seizing gold assents and arresting its head and coercing the daughter to hand over the rest. What with laundering the gold out of Russian using an British firm and a Lawyer that by chance is an undercover CIA officer and the daughter seeking to use the lawyer to recover the gold with an improbable back ground of breeding pedigree race horses makes a long and complex many stranded story involving the intervention of Russian and US secret services.

I must admit that I didn't read "Damascus Station" first and perhaps that was a mistake on my part. I found this book a little hard going in the beginning, the cast of characters is large and I did keep flipping back to remind myself who was who, however, I am so glad that I persevered. This is a long story and it takes the author quite a time to lay down the plot but then the story explodes to probably the best spy story that I have ever read.
The plot is so thick it would be very difficult to precis the story but basically Sia is a CIA officer working in a London law firm, a law firm that conceals the wealth of the super rich, Max runs his family's horse breeding and trading business in Mexico, a business that is a front for the CIA. Sia and Max are sent as partners to Moscow under the guise of selling elite racing horses but really their task is to try to recruit Vadim, Putin's moneyman or perhaps Anna, his wife, theirs was a marriage of convenience and she hates him, she may be their best target, but all is not as it seems.
This story has so much depth it is so obvious that the author knows his subject, I have learned so much about espionage, the tricks played, the subterfuge, the equipment available, the lengths the spy's will go to to obtain their goal and the dangers that they face daily, all this is going on in the background as we go about our relatively mundane lives but in the end it affects us all.
A great story with so much content, thank you David McCloskey for sharing your knowledge and thank yo Net Gallery for my free book, my review is completely voluntary.

Imagine you have just completed the first draft of your second novel entitled Moscow X and Russia invades Ukraine. Wow that must have been a show stopper. I enjoyed the equine references that were well researched and advised. When I think of Russia three words come to mind; Chess, Vodka and Putin. Needless to say these all featured in the book. Maybe now I should read 'Damascus Station', David McCloskey's first book which I was lucky enough to win a paperback copy of in a competition. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

This is up there with the very best spy stories.So topical with all that is happening in Russia. Great characters and incredible insights into deep cover.. Once it gets going it really moves along.

CIA operatives Sia and Max enter Russia to recruit Vladimir Putin’s moneyman. Sia works for a London firm that conceals the wealth of the super-rich. Max’s family business in Mexico – a CIA front since the 1960s – is a farm that breeds high-end racehorses. They pose as a couple, and their targets are Vadim, Putin’s private banker, and his wife Anna, who is both a banker and an intelligence officer herself…

I found this book hard to get going. There is a lot of scene setting and this really slows the start down to the stage that I was finding it difficult to remember who was who. The pace picked up somewhat but it wasn’t gripping enough for me. It seems well researched not for me.

An enjoyable book. I did find it slow to get into the book as there is a lot of scene setting, similar Russian named characters and various organisations. It is obvious that McCloskey knows what he is talking about, but less detail and convoluted plot would have made an easier read. Having said that, I'm sure a lot of readers will really enjoy it.

Ex-CIA analyst David McCloskey burst onto the espionage thriller scene with his debut Damascus Station. Set in Syria in the 2010s, Damascus Station managed to walk fine line between between operational jargon, plot and character. McCloskey brings his spook world right up to the present day in Moscow X. Partly anchored by Artemis Procter, the spiky Chief from Damascus Station (who appears in this book’s jaw-dropping cold open), Moscow X is a very different tale of spies, false identities, plots and counter plots.
Internal machinations are afoot in Putin’s Russia when Moscow X opens. A high ranking Putin Crony Gusev, known as the Goose, has made a move on his old rival Agapov, stealing his money in the name of Russia but squirreling it away overseas. Little does he know that the lawyer handling the transaction in London is actually deep cover CIA agent Sia Fox. Agapov’s daughter, Anna isherself in the Russian security service and unhappily married to Putin money-man Vadim. While she is trying to work out how to get to Sia, Sia and her handlers are trying to make a play to get to Vadim through a Mexican thoroughbred horse dealer whose family have long associations with the CIA. As the stakes get higher no one is quite sure who is playing who but the danger to Sia, Max and Anna is constant and very real.
Damascus Station was a tale of a spy runner who falls in love with his informant. There is much more that book but the centre of it is relatively straightforward. Moscow X has its share of love interests and attraction but set in a world and characters that are much more complex. And plays out against an audacious plan to destabilise Russian politics being run by the always entertaining Procter. Readers learn enough to know exactly when to be worried. And there is plenty to be worried about. After putting all of the pieces in place McCloskey ramps up the tension on all of the characters (and on the reader), with only a brief reprieve before turning up the heat again.
Moscow X is another great espionage thriller from McCloskey. Once again, McCloskey embeds plenty of authentic feeling spycraft but never lets his characters be defined by their expertise or let the detail get in the way of the action. A third book featuring Procter (The Seventh Floor), is on the way. It cannot come soon enough.

I wish I'd read the first in the series, but because I got this through Netgalley, I didn't realise there was a first!

Initially it felt all over the place, but then it settled down and I was hooked.

I love spy and MI5 so this was right up my street.

Read the first, first!

I'd give this a 4 out of 5

Proctor is now running Moscow X. She has plans to plant the idea of a conspiracy into the mind of Putin but she needs information from Anna to set the plan rolling. She sends Sia and Max to Russia to turn Anna and gain her help. But her life is very complicated and she is under surveillance continually and so in danger always.

This novel is so well written with strong complicated characters. Great plot line and this is a fast paced novel. Our main characters will need all their strength to get through their time in Russia and hopefully survive.

Great read, enjoy.

This is a really exciting spy thriller. Proctor is in charge of CIA Department Moscow X to retaliate against Russian offensives. Undercover Agents Sia and Max get involved in a plan to try to recruit Russian couple Anna and Vadim as assets using horse racing connections as an introduction. They first meet at Max's place in Mexico, but the action really kicks off in a terrifying way when Sia and Max visit the couple in Russia. Sia and Anna are both good characters and I wanted them both to succeed, without destroying each other.
There's also a lot about the machinations of the CIA and FSB as more people get involved with their own motives.
Highly recommended.

What a fantastic story, brilliantly written. If you like stories about the CIA and FSB this is for you. The CIA hatch a plan to turn a rich Russian oligarch who will set the wheels in motion to provide proof of a coup to overturn Putin by stealing billions of bitcoin. The main characters are Anna the daughter of the Russian bank where the gold to buy the bitcoin is stolen from. Hortensia known as Sia a deep CIA operative working for a corrupt private uk bank who are hiding money for many wealthy Russians, and their partners. The FSB Iis drawn into this web of lies and false evidence and execute some of its senior officers which leads to the successful outcome for both Sia and Anna. Recommended.