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The Peregrine Spy
Frank Sullivan, an occasional contract employee of the CIA, has been recruited again-this time for work in an Iran where the Islamic revolution of 1978-79 is already well underway.
Frank's assignment is to work for the Agency under US Air Force cover while officially serving as a propaganda adviser to the Iranian military. As Frank conflicts with an agency bureaucracy seeking field reporting that justifies Washington's already-determined conclusions, he gains a growing awareness of the inadequacy of American intelligence on the revolution's real nature. And as he witnesses the overrunning of the American embassy by militants, he realizes how intertwined his job has become with his life.
Trying to survive a chaotic civil war is the least of Frank's problems as he becomes involved in efforts to recruit a high-level Russian KGB agent and to learn the identity of a mole back at Agency headquarters. But the closer he gets to the objects he pursues, the more likely it becomes that he won't make it out alive.
Set during the final days of the Shah and the consolidation of power under Ayatollah Khomeini, The Peregrine Spy is a stunning novel of a time and place that has never left the public conscious. It is also a keenly told story of the inner workings of the CIA and the extent of its reach.
Frank's assignment is to work for the Agency under US Air Force cover while officially serving as a propaganda adviser to the Iranian military. As Frank conflicts with an agency bureaucracy seeking field reporting that justifies Washington's already-determined conclusions, he gains a growing awareness of the inadequacy of American intelligence on the revolution's real nature. And as he witnesses the overrunning of the American embassy by militants, he realizes how intertwined his job has become with his life.
Trying to survive a chaotic civil war is the least of Frank's problems as he becomes involved in efforts to recruit a high-level Russian KGB agent and to learn the identity of a mole back at Agency headquarters. But the closer he gets to the objects he pursues, the more likely it becomes that he won't make it out alive.
Set during the final days of the Shah and the consolidation of power under Ayatollah Khomeini, The Peregrine Spy is a stunning novel of a time and place that has never left the public conscious. It is also a keenly told story of the inner workings of the CIA and the extent of its reach.
464 pages, Hardcover
First published April 28, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 25, 2007
I bought this book thinking that it was a fluffy spy novel, of the Robert Ludlum type, perhaps. Wrong. This is actually a very high-quality roman a clef of the author's days working with the government in dying days of the Shah's Iran.
Although only 464 pages, it took me a long time to read this book, and the first 100 or so pages, I couldn't get invested in it, because I kept waiting for the "but then, something happened..." type twist that would turn the narrative into a fast-paced, high-octane, thriller of espionage and danger. There was danger, of course, but it was deftly outmanoeuvered by the protagonist. No hidden caches of guns or secret CIA deposit-boxes in Swiss banks for this hero. Instead, this is a picture of what spying is actually like-- careful, clandestine and slightly quotidian.
If I picked the book up again, without the expectation of high-speed chases and dangerous women, I would probably give it all five stars. It works well as what it is-- historical fiction that just happens to have the word "Spy" in the title.
Although only 464 pages, it took me a long time to read this book, and the first 100 or so pages, I couldn't get invested in it, because I kept waiting for the "but then, something happened..." type twist that would turn the narrative into a fast-paced, high-octane, thriller of espionage and danger. There was danger, of course, but it was deftly outmanoeuvered by the protagonist. No hidden caches of guns or secret CIA deposit-boxes in Swiss banks for this hero. Instead, this is a picture of what spying is actually like-- careful, clandestine and slightly quotidian.
If I picked the book up again, without the expectation of high-speed chases and dangerous women, I would probably give it all five stars. It works well as what it is-- historical fiction that just happens to have the word "Spy" in the title.
December 10, 2014
It reads more like a memoir than a novel.
It's a different pace and a different drive.
I still found it a fascinating read that left me with a better understanding of the era and the people involved in the action.
It's a different pace and a different drive.
I still found it a fascinating read that left me with a better understanding of the era and the people involved in the action.
October 13, 2024
insights into late persia/revolution of the islamic republic of iran.
March 23, 2013
Excellent historical fiction about the final days of the Shah in Iran. Definitely not a thriller, it highlights the careerism, bureaucracy and bungling that is the real spy's life.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews