The Case Officer

CIA inc

by F.W. Rustmann Jr.

In the murky world of espionage, where shadowy intelligence operatives struggle against one another to gain tactical advantage, things can often go very, very wrong. This is one such story. Told by a former master CIA spy, truth is woven with fiction to create a gripping yet authentic action packed tale of real intelligence operatives at...

Genres: Fiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published December 19, 2012

Reviews

[Cullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The strength of this book is in the author's knowledge. Rustmann was a former CIA case officer, so the information presented here is probably about as close to the truth of covert operations as you will get from fiction. We can also assume that many (if not most) of the characters in here are based on individuals Rustmann knew during his time.

So based on the above, this book is worth reading. The novel itself isn't well-written. There's a lot of exposition disguised as dialogue: "well, Bob, as you know ...." sort of thing. There are over a hundred chapters in this book, some more than a paragraph long. There are a few errors scattered throughout (missing words, etc). So I think Rustmann could have done with an editor that would have both fixed the errors and helped him better format the layout of the book.

Anyway, anyone interested in intelligence operations or covert actions would enjoy this book.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like CIA, Inc this book was full of tradecraft. It was a story also, but told in a format that read more like briefings, which really helped add to the story itself. From a guy who knows the difference between real and BS, this book was fun to read and absorb. For those who did this kind of thing, it really helps the admirer understand just how much these warriors help us. Worthy reading. I liked it so much after CIA, Inc I purchased the authors other 3 books. Two more to go!

[James Kassel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Case Officer is great look into some of the inside operations of the CIA. The author, FW Rustmann was a decades long case officer with the CIA and the book is based upon his real life experiences. This novel is not a standard political thriller so-to-speak, however it provides a fascinating look into how the agency recruits and utilizes assets in the 1980's and 1990's. I would put the story more into the category of historical fiction in a way and while the novel has surely been heavily scrubbed by the CIA, I found the operational detail to be riveting.

[Matthew Frick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit repetitive in the dialogue, but good insight into some of the "normal" things CIA case officers deal with. And to say that it is a page-turner is really an understatement. I don't read fast by any measure, but I tore through this one.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just OK.