Kirkus Reviews:

child custody case spirals into a national crisis in Manning’s spy thriller. In this installment of the author’s Kolya Petrov series, the story opens with Kolya’s fiancée, Alex Feinstein, receiving a panicked call: Alex’s best friend from high school, Yael, has just had her baby taken away by the police and CPS, and even though the two haven’t spoken in years, Yael is convinced that Alex is the only lawyer who can help. Alex is reluctant to get involved—especially considering how evasive Yael is being about where her husband, Brody, is and what he does for work—but Yael convinces her to come to New York. Meanwhile, an intrigued Kolya uses his espionage skills, honed by his work with the Executive Covert Agency, to look into Brody. He quickly discovers that Brody’s boss is Victor Forest, a man who seems to leave no digital footprint.

“This was beyond bland,” Kolya thinks to himself.

“This was spook territory.”

When Kolya’s colleagues reveal that Forest is actually a former CIA agent and the current head of a dangerous domestic terrorism ring known as the American Gold Posse, he rushes to meet Alex in New York. As Kolya and his team’s investigation uncovers a chilling plot, Alex tries to find a way to help her old friend and support her fiancé—but no one is safe. Kolya’s storyline follows the conventional lines of an espionage thriller, but Manning manages to imbue even his simple social media searches with great tension. The villains are characterized by a chilling (and timely) blend of patriotism, aggression, and conspiracy theory-fueled lunacy. The heart of the story is the emotionally charged court custody battle—one made even more intriguing by the involvement of a haughty and hot-tempered social worker, Barbara, who doesn’t “really like babies all that much.”

Everything leads to the ticking bombs and shootouts that are staples of the genre, but the skillful combination of wildly different elements makes for a fun and fresh read. Great villains and family drama elevate this espionage thriller above standard spy-game fare.