Red Widow is a fascinating cerebral spy thriller that reads like an old school spy thriller with ample focus on character development and well-written twists that are worth the slow burn narrative. Alma Katsu utilizes her real-life experiences in the CIA to create a riveting cat-and-mouse tale of spies and betrayals in the gray world of espionage.
Red Widow presents Lyndsey Duncan, known as the human lie detector for her uncanny ability to catch micro expressions and nuances of her targets, in a compromising situation which puts her under the spotlight for fraternizing with an agent from a foreign intelligence organization. She is suddenly brought onboard to investigate the deaths of several Russian assets of the CIA. With a mole suspected of leaking the identities of the CIA assets, one of whom Lynsey personally handled during her successful tenure in Russia, she has to treat everyone as a suspect. Even when the identity of the supposed mole is revealed halfway through ( only to readers ), the mystique simply continues with hidden agendas and WOW-level twists. Without spoiling the fun part, the best advice is to be ready for ANY possibility in the narrative.
Red Widow benefits immensely from Alma Katsu’s real experiences in the CIA. The slow burn allows more time to understand and resonate with the realistic characters. The inner workings of CIA are presented with an authority and expertise that feel extremely interesting to read through, especially with how Lyndsey investigates the mole through the use of CIA tools and tradecraft. Switching the POV from Lyndsey to the mole and back is a superb technique to create an aura of a chess match where the readers are feverishly flipping the pages to see who comes out on top.
The only weapons in this espionage thriller are the incredibly relatable characters that drive the story with intense emotions and personal stakes, and that is all the ammunition needed for this clever narrative. I found the characters to be extremely well-written with consistent development throughout the narrative to give insights into backstories that, when combined with the present actions of said characters, clarify prior twists and give rise to new turns in the story.
Red Widow is a nail-biting story with growing tension of a showdown between a mole and a molehunter that pays off very well by the end. This story was just the tip of the iceberg, with an anxious cliffhanger that will have you wanting more! I am extremely excited to read more thrillers in this exquisite cerebral spy series by Alma Katsu. From the moment I read the first page to the moment I closed the book, I had no intention of putting the book down.
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