Dagher also brings the civil war home, connecting the reader with every day average Syrians. He writes affectionally of those fighting to survive on the front line, continuing to advocate (at the time of writing) for freedom and reform, and those part of the Local Coordination Committees—organizers of and reporters on, the protests on-the-ground. The tragedy is that the reader knows, especially now, that their efforts will not prove to be successful. If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month.

Protect your agent. It’s all that matters,” Sam Joseph reminds himself in the midst of a perfect storm of personal and professional crises while a looming threat places thousands of innocent lives at risk. Superb breathlessly gripping thrilling & truly terrifying, written in unadorned style by an CIA agent, almost real in its details of CIA espionage in Syria, savage feuds within Assad palace, intrigues of Mideast. Highly recommended‘– Simon Sebag Montefiore The author is a former CIA analyst and his knowledge is all over this superb debut spy thriller … full of the paranoia, tedium and terror of spying’ – The Sun As a result, he had an easy time when CIA censors reviewed his work. “I did my own kind of filtering…I might have had one hundred fifty footnotes in there to show where stuff had already been through the PRB or where it just existed in the public domain, outside of WikiLeaks and stuff—which doesn't really count when you're trying to source things with them. So as a result, you know, they didn't touch much, to be honest.”Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. What happens at the end of my trial? One of the best spy thrillers for years … McCloskey is a former CIA analyst who worked in the Middle East. As with le Carré, much of the fascination of his writing comes from his insider’s knowledge of spying’s shadow ballet … Treat yourself to a walk along the Street Called Straight: you won’t find a more compelling guide than David McCloskey’ The Times

Case officers assume, at their peril, that an agent has not lost their job, changed their mind, or been caught, threatened, and turned since the last time they met. An agent’s double life is a lonely and scary existence. But there’s a level of detachment required of the case officer despite the appearance he or she must always display to an agent: that they’re the center of your universe and a cherished friend. McCloskey does well to make Joseph both a confident and expert spy—and therefore, a vulnerable and real human being who at the end of the day must make the right choice. Falling in love with your agent—literally, in this case—is a cardinal sin in the espionage trade. But Sam cannot help himself, especially after she pummels him at the dojo. Mr. McCloskey, who grew up in Minnesota and studied international relations, worked as a political analyst in CIA headquarters and from field stations in the Middle East. His main character, Samuel Joseph, hews more to the middle of the spectrum between Jason Bourne and George Smiley, and that’s not a bad thing. He is a master of his craft, but possesses a self-awareness and self-reflection that makes him human. His absolutely verboten indiscretion of becoming romantically and physically entangled with his agent Miriam, certainly raises the stakes in the plot.For those hoping for a more realistic look at how the CIA spies, you won’t be disappointed. Yes, as an operational tradecraft diva who spent 34 years on the street for the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, I found a number of artificial, inaccurate, or unrealistic accounts. But whereas I remain unable to sit through an episode of Homeland or 24 and simply suspend reality for 007 films, which are just pure fun, I was impressed and grateful for McCloskey’s ability to integrate just enough reality. In fairness, the author explains his interest in protecting sources and methods as well as the CIA review process, which likewise assures as much while not revealing too much. Damascus Station is a breathless ride; the best laid plans sometimes come tumbling down and brinkmanship can lead to miscalculations on both sides. It is easy to identify good and evil here, but McCloskey also mines the nuances of people on both sides fighting to survive. Therein, perhaps, lies the high praise delivered by the likes of retired Gen. David Petraeus, who served as CIA director for a time, and who gushes i n a pre-publication blurb that Damascus Station “is the best spy novel I have ever read.”

Overly kind, says McCloskey, who describes himself as a student of some of the stars of the genre— John LeCarre , David Ignatius and, more recently, Jason Matthews , the author of Red Sparrow, who died in April and who was also a former CIA officer. The Biden administration has likewise invested in Tice. Its public posture, however, has been more focused on determining his ultimate fate rather than suggesting he might still be alive or his release is still possible. Sam and his CIA team use that human factor to find weaknesses among their adversaries and to exploit those weaknesses. In Damascus Station, victory is never assured and there is more than one deadly encounter before it’s all over. Whereas I remain unable to sit through an episode of Homeland or 24, I was impressed and grateful for McCloskey’s ability to integrate just enough reality. David McCloskey is a former CIA analyst … the book is energised by his own experience’– The Times Best Books of 2023 So FarThe story takes place in the early 2010s, while the United States was engaged and supporting Assad’s opponents in the Syrian civil war. The Syrian president does appear in the story as an unattractive walk-on character, the only real political figure in the book. McCloskey goes deeper on the supporting cast around the dictator. There are husbands and wives, family members who must be protected, human foibles even among the most unyielding enemies.

Sam pursues the brothers with surveillance assistance and monitoring from CIA headquarters, along with an extensive human network inside Syria. He also identifies a potential insider who can help—Mariam, whose family is tied in with the regime but who also has reason to harbor hatred for the system. Were she to be discovered as an opponent of the regime, Mariam and everyone around her would face certain death. McCloskey’s character development is rich and thoroughly enjoyable. Nearly every character, and there are many, receive an attention to detail that brings them to life, even if they are secondary to the plot. The analyst Zelda, the Office of Technical Services bombmaker Paulina, the Russian Volkov, the list goes on by McCloskey manages to imbue them with personality and vividness in a few short sentences, making them feel important and life-like. My personal favorite character was Artemis Aphrodite Procter, the no-nonsense Chief of Station Damascus, who suffers no fools and supports her people in the field, even if they require a punch in the mouth. For an authentic representation of what it’s like to work in intelligence, look no further than Damascus Station. McCloskey has captured it all: the breathtaking close calls, the hand in glove of tech and ops, the heartbreaking disappointments, the thrill of a hard-won victory." - Alma Katsu, author of Red Widow and former CIA and NSA analyst McCloskey says that the specifics of the story—time, place,and major characters—are purely fictional, including an instance of Sam engaging in a martial arts training session with his undercover operative and love interest, both being trained by an Israeli instructor. For an authentic representation of what it's like to work in intelligence, look no further than Damascus Station. McCloskey has captured it all: the breathtaking close calls, the hand in glove of tech and ops, the heartbreaking disappointments, the thrill of a hard-won victory' - Alma Katsu, author of Red Widow and former CIA and NSA analystDamascus Station is simply marvellous storytelling...a stand-out thriller and essential reading for fans of the genre' - Financial Times McCloskey’s remarkably accomplished debut mixes action, a Romeo and Juliet story and previously undisclosed intelligence about Assad’s regime’– The Times Best Summer Books for 2023 Stuffed with insider insights … It reveals some top-notch intelligence tradecraft’ – Tim Shipman, Sunday Times