“Open House” had all the elements we’ve come to expect from The Americans: car chases, marital maneuverings, Rezidentura intrigue, and another intimate, cringe-worthy scene of violence (something that is quickly becoming a trademark of the show). Yet at the end of the episode, we are pretty much at the same point we were the previous…
Thief by Mark Sullivan is the 3rd book in the Robin Monarch series about a world-class thief who may have stumbled onto the secret to immortality (available December 16, 2014). Robin Monarch is a man with a complicated past and dangerous present. He’s been a soldier, a CIA agent, a freelance operative but first and…
I’ve run across an interesting piece by Nathan Abrams, Professor of Film Studies at Bangor (UK) University, on The Conversation website (“a collaboration between editors and academics to provide informed news analysis and commentary”). The title sums it up nicely: “Mossad Agents Were Suave and Effective on Screen, Now They’re Ineffective Blunderers.” Abrams’ thesis: Mossad,…
The Equalizer by Michael Sloan is a thrilling reinvention of the TV series centered on former covert CIA officer Robert McCall (available August 19, 2014). Michael Sloan, creator of the 1980s TV series, reinvents the story of the mysterious, former covert intelligence officer who helps desperate people who are in need of his unique and…
Alien Hunter: Underworld by Whitley Strieber is the second sci-fi thriller featuring Flynn Carroll, a member of the secret alien communications department of the CIA (available August 5, 2014). Flynn Carroll works for the most secret police unit on the planet, seeking the most brilliant and lethal criminals who have ever walked free: thieves and…
Sometimes a movie sparks controvery, but rarely is that controversy taken to such as international scale. The Interview, which hits theaters October 10, 2014, focuses on two bumbling men—one, a journalist trying to redeem his career, the other, his producer—who land The Interview of The Year: A chance to sit down with Kim Jong Un.…
Good Hunting: An American Spymaster's Story by Jack Devine is a historical memoir by 32-year CIA member and eventual acting deputy director of operations that starts during the Cold War and ends in Afghanistan (available June 3, 2014). Jack Devine ran Charlie Wilson’s War in Afghanistan. It was the largest covert action of the Cold…
You bet we've got four knaves for you: Jimmy, Moe, Alex… and, uh, Dismas? This handful of trouble includes fresh titles from Johnny Shaw, Reed Farrel Coleman, Marc Guggenheim, and John Lescroart—such a deal! This Sweepstakes Has Ended This is NOT a Comments Sweepstakes. You must click the link above to enter. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A…
Read here for Part 1: Five Things We Now Know and Part 2: Trigger, Trigger! Who Pulled the Trigger? Continuing… At 50 years, I’m not sure where we stand. Yes, we have more information. We know that most of the CIA’s public pronouncements about their connection to Oswald were simply lies. Yes, they had…
The 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination is quickly approaching on November 22nd. And we’ve already been subjected to panel discussions, new books, letters to editors defending the Warren Commission, letters to editors condemning the Warren Commission, and a spate of films yet to come. The divide between those who believe Lee Harvey…
