The Blind Spy

Anna Resnikov #3

by Alex Dryden

“Alex Dryden is a writer who can please everyone from fans of old le Carré to students of current affairs.” —James Grippando, New York Times bestselling author of Afraid of the Dark

“Ex-KGB Colonel Anna Resnikov is a terrific heroine.” —Phillip Margolin, New York Times bestselling author of Supreme Justice

“Alex Dryden is the real thing. If he got any realer, he would step out of the pages and physically punch you, with both elegance and regret.”—Hugh Laurie, star of “House”

An author whom the Richmond Times Dispatch calls, “the next John le Carré,” Alex Dryden returns with The Blind Spy—the third book in his critically acclaimed espionage fiction series featuring Anna Resnikov, formerly of the KGB in Moscow. One of the most intriguing female protagonists in contemporary fiction, Anna is back in the rifle sights of her former masters as she races to expose Russia’s plot to destabilize the Ukraine and retake their former territory. A story almost literally ripped from the headlines, The Blind Spy is a gripping, smart adventure that crackles with authentic modern spycraft—an absolute must-read for fans of John le Carré, Alex Berenson, Martin Cruz Smith’s Arkady Renko series, spy novel and geopolitical thriller devotees, and for any readers interested in what’s really going on in the “new Russia.”

Genres: Fiction, Espionage, Thriller, Mystery, Russia

389 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 20, 2012

About the author

Alex Dryden is a writer and journalist with many years of experience in security matters. When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, Dryden watched the statues of Lenin fall across the former Soviet Union. Since then he has charted the false dawn of democracy in Russia as the country has transformed into the world's most powerful secret state

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise is that Putin's Russia is planning to undermine Ukraine's independence and re-absorb it. Out to thwart the plot are Alex Dryden's now familiar heroes, ex-KGB agent Anna Resnikov and the American agent Logan Halloran. Dryden is an expert on Russia and his novel's depiction of the country as macho bully plotting to subjugate its neighbour is chilling. But while the book has many interesting ideas, the characters are flat and never come to life, and the twists in the narrative are irritating at times.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried SO hard to get into this book. The first chapter was good... the second chapter was a little long. I found my eyes glazing over. Too much detail. Yeah, I know, I'm weird that way. I wanted to like it. I forced myself through a few chapters. I found myself reading and re-reading the same paragraphs and ended up skimming through the rest of the book. I never got hooked, but that doesn't mean someone else won't love it. It just wasn't for me.

[Petesea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt that this book was somewhat wordy, but did not get into the detail that I expected. It was pretty tiresome that one character was the perfect female spy and another was the perfect male spy who was blind and had supernatural powers and another was the perfect spymaster who knew everything that was happening around the globe and why. Where were the imperfections? Oh, there was a character like that who was bad, then good, then bad, then good – again rather tiresome.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was slow and sometimes difficult to follow. I haven't read the other books in the series, so perhaps that's my problem, but I do acknowledge that the author clearly has an amazing knowledge of Russia and spying.

[Kirsteen · Rating 1 out of 5]

It started as a slog and remained a slog. Narrative drifted about a lot which made me feel irritated rather than intrigued.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first few pages let me know there was potential, but then the plot line and disjointed action (or lack or action) dragged on until close to page 215, when I found myself caught up in the story and wanting to read more. Until then, maybe too heavy on details that may have provided background and explanations, but which were too tedious. Yay for having a woman asn in Portland and competent central character—though I guess this series is about her. But that didn’t save the book from its flaws. Maybe the two books before this one are better.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book - it's all about spies in Ukraine. I loved coming across descriptions of events (Orange Revolution), people (Timoshenko, Yanukovich), places (Kiev, Sevastopol) that I had been to, experienced, or heard of in my time in Ukraine. But the prose got really slow and I wasn't pulled in by what should have been intriguing or thrilling. I have to admit, I gave up and skipped to the end about 2/3 of the way through.

[Florence Primrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anna Resnikov is working for Cougar, a spy agency made up with many former CIA operatives. Russia is striving to overtake Ukraine again and Anna and other spy’s are on the move there. But Anna finds that a young boy she knew when both were young is also having seconds thoughts.

An international spy thriller.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written and well-paced spy thriller with lots of delicious twists. It almost seems to look into the mind of the likes of Vladimir Putin. Do put this in your holiday bag, you won't be disappointed.

[Marla L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the book well paced and it had an interesting plot. I enjoyed the book until the very last few pages. I felt the last few pages of the story where muddled and confusing. However, I would read other books by this author.

[Tim · Rating 1 out of 5]

I persevered with this book but it could have quite easily been the second book to not complete.

[John Anthamatten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with others that both #2 and #3 were wordy. I didn’t read #1. #3 was a bit better than #2 with a couple of surprises even.

[Allen Batchelar · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very timely novel with the war raging in Ukraine. Interesting to have a spy novel involving Ukraine and Russia vice the more normal West vs. Russia.

[Jacki (Julia Flyte) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book not realising that it's the third in a series. Nothing obvious to tell me that. Consequently I spent a large part of the book trying to figure out the relationships between various characters. Some valuable pieces of back history are finally given, but not until near the end. So if you are new to Alex Dryden, this is not the place to start. Start with Red to Black instead.

Anna Resnikov is an ex-KGB agent who defected several years ago when she fell in love with a Western agent (now deceased). She is one of the main characters in this book, but she's an enigmatic character who is only sketchily described. I never felt that I understood her or her motivations. She works for a US-based black ops group. They are concerned about Russia's increasing aggression towards the Ukraine, trying to engineer an excuse to invade the country. Anna is sent into the Ukraine undercover to retrieve evidence.

The "Blind Spy" of the title is a Russian agent who is also sent to the Ukraine by his country. He is blind, but he has a credibility-stretching talent for knowing things at a psychic level, to the point where he can apparently tell what colour clothing people are wearing or how many seagulls are flying past. He and Anna have a long and complicated back history.

There are a couple of stand out action sequences when Anna is in the field, but otherwise this is a tedious read with a lot of posturing in conference rooms between characters whom I felt absolutely no involvement with. Towards the end there is a big development which would probably mean significantly more to anyone who has read the previous novels in the series. Not having done that, I can't recommend it.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up on a whim while at the library looking for a book that was a quick read with a fast moving plot ! The only disappointment was that I picked up Book #3 in a series of three books by this author without realizing it was the third in a series ! The book does well as a "stand alone" however and was just a great read ... exciting plot! The author provides a commentary on Russian President Putin's designs on Ukraine and other formerly Soviet Union states. It's no surprise that the author is convinced that Putin is working towards re-gaining land lost by the independence movement that was the "break up" of the Soviet Union.

[Lkelly6 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wow! I liked this book even better than MOSCOW STING. I loved learning more about Anna and I loved the layers of this book, beginning with the title. The idea of what = blindness is one to ponder -- not just while reading this book but in MY LIFE.

Nice romance adds to the enjoyment. Who wouldn't want Anna to find some happiness? And also Balthasar!

Last night I re-read this book while we watched college football. I loved it even more than the first time.

[Robert Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts very slow and takes more than half of the book before the story starts to get interesting. Red to Black is the best of the books to date while Moscow Sting is good. Anna moves at will amongst people who are after her, which is one of the biggest problems with the story. This aside from sinking an aircraft carrier and literally running off to save a young girl in a military hospital/ prison.

[Eric Jolly · Rating 1 out of 5]

My goodness, this book was painful reading. It was full of crosses and double crosses...very typical spy book. I typically like spy books, but I couldn't, for the life of me find any interest in the main characters of this book.

This book had made me black out with sleep every night for the last month. I could never read more than 10 pages in a single sitting. Sorry, I can't recommend this book to any reader.

[Leonard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book looking at Russia's relationship to Ukraine. Too bad the present situation (March, 2014) will not turn out as good. Some good plot twists, a spy who is blind but can get around very well. An image of a train running down the tracks on a wharf, hitting an aircraft carrier, and then capsizing.

[Rodney · Rating 2 out of 5]

As good as the first two novels were….this one was not. Characters that had been well written and interesting were suddenly one dimensional. The plot was porous and cliched. There was no story development, it just meandered from scene to scene. I hope Dryden turns it around in the final book of the series.

[Kenneth · Rating 2 out of 5]

These novels progressed on a steady downward slant of quality. Still, I read it through to the end out of curiosity. The first novel, Red to Black, was the best of the bunch so far; this one really felt as if the author were meeting a contractual obligation.

[Peter Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of disappointing

I'm very comfortable with spy novels but somehow this one missed the mark. Plot was weak as was character development. Read it to the end as that is my rule but it didn't redeem itself.

[Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this series. Recommend reading books in order to best appreciate.

[Jo Franz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoy Dryden's writing and this was a thriller that satisfied my curiosity! I love the fact that he doesn't need his characters to use swearing for effect.

[Beth]

Labyrinthan and engrossing. Well done.

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

It moved so slow that I finally stopped reading it. Finished about half.

[Mike Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, but didn't grab me like I thought it would.

[Bob Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good quick read.

I loved the blind spy concept. He was awesome but a little unbelievable. I want to read the next book.

[Ellen Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Traditional spy story with the backdrop of Ukraine and Crimea in 2010.

[elsalmon L · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ex-KGB colonel Anna Resnikov thwarts Putin and the Patriots' clandestine plot to destabilize the young democratic nation of Ukraine.