(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Nine years ago, terrorists hijacked a plane in Vienna. Somehow, a rescue attempt staged from the inside went terribly wrong and everyone on board was killed.
Members of the CIA stationed in Vienna during that time were witness to this terrible tragedy, gathering intel from their sources during those tense hours, assimilating facts from the ground with a series of texts coming from one of their agents inside the plane. So when it all went wrong, the question had to be asked: Had their agent been compromised, and how?
Two of those agents, Henry Pelham and Celia Harrison, were lovers at the time, and in fact that was the last night they spent together. Until now. That night Celia decided she’d had enough; she left the agency, married and had children, and is living an ordinary life in the suburbs. Henry is still an analyst, and has traveled to California to see her one more time, to relive the past, maybe, or to put it behind him once and for all.
But neither of them can forget that long-ago question: Had their agent been compromised, and how? And each of them also wonders what role tonight’s dinner companion might have played in the way things unfolded.

*4.5 stars*

This is a seriously good piece of writing. Espionage/spy novels are a dime a dozen, so finding a really good one can be hard. Not only is this a very good story, it is told from a completely different angle than most: two agents, former lovers, meet for dinner and talk about a case that left them with more questions than answers. Told from both points of view in a series of "flashbacks", this clever and intelligent thriller is right up there with some of the best I have read.

The best part about this book (and, indeed, all spy novels for me) is the sense of paranoia involved in the Intelligence community. And while reading the narratives from both Henry and Celia, they tend to overlap - but both stories aren't quite the same...leaving the reader to feel a little of that paranoia about who is telling the truth...and why the other is lying...

One of the better spy thrillers I have ever read. Definitely highly recommended!


Paul
ARH