Moscow Sting
Alex Dryden

ECCO/Harper Collins
August 2010/ ISBN 9780061966842
suspense
Amazon

Reviewed by Barbara Buhrer

Anna Resnikovia,a KGB colonel, was supposed to get close to British M16 agent Finn. Instead, they fall in love and have a child. Anna defects. When Finn is killed by the Russians, Anna flees to the south of France with her 2 year old son, hunted by the Americans, English and Russians. M16 seeks Anna to reinstate contact with Mikhail, a Russian mole, an informant close to Putin, but she distrusts the CIA and M16 believing they are driven by self-interest. An ex-CIA agent finds her and tries to sell her whereabouts for a half million to the Russians, Americans and British. She is rescued by a private US intelligence company and is taken to the US to be debriefed. She pits her wits against them all to protect her son and Mikhail.

This is a thought provoking story. The plot is believable and devious. There is a lot of information about private intelligent companies, about the KGB's control of Russian business and politics. The writing is smooth; the characters well drawn. Anna is a resourceful. smart, sympathetic character, protecting her infant son. There is enough double-dealing and betrayals to keep the reader alert and in suspense.

Reviewer's Note: