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Book Review: Sleeper Spy by William Safire
Posted on Sunday 26 May @ 06:54:10
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Every week (or thereabout) HGLEE.COM will review a book or film. Each work will have a brief review and a quick link to Amazon, should you decide to pick up a copy for yourself. This week's selection is William Safire's Sleeper Spy.
Safire's foray into espionage is a fascinating look at the art and science of deception. Safire's penchant for understatement is never more clear than in the novel's subtitle ("A novel of deception"). The characters that Safire develops are realistic and the plot that he unfolds is intricately captivating.
The story follows world-renown journalist, Irving Fein, as he pairs up with an up-and-coming television news presenter to uncover the mystery behind the existence of a K.G.B. "Sleeper Spy." The sleeper is allegedly a dedicated 22-year-old Communist, Aleksandr Berensky, who was ostensibly sent to the United States in 1972 and assigned to establish himself in a banking career and await further instructions.
In 1989, as the Soviet empire collapsed, the K.G.B. activated its sleeper. It put billions of dollars in gold at his disposal, and it instructed him to build a fortune, using insider information gleaned from Moscow and an informant within the Federal Reserve.
During the course of this journalistic detection, the deceptions run so deep and are so intricate that the reader struggles to keep track of the crosses, double-crosses, and triple crosses. And, while the book does get tedious in places, I found it worth the investment overall.
The dialog and deception alone work to provide a very cerebral and challenging mystery. Coupled with a well written and superbly architected plot, however, this novel is head and shoulders above those of the Fleming and Buckley genre. I look forward to future forays in this area from Mr. Safire.
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