Too Soon a Spy

by Jack Maconaghy

From desk agent to unexpected field agent. The safety of the world hangs in the balance.

Kate Malone is an intelligence analyst specializing in Russian military and politics. When asked to debrief a Russian defector in Paris, she considers it just another routine assignment.

Routine becomes chaos and leads to a desperate chase through the capitals of Europe.

With no training as a field operative, Kate must learn the ways of a spy even as Russian agents hunt her down. Failure could lead to another world war, but success depends on survival. And in the world of international espionage, survival is never guaranteed.

Experience a gripping tale of international intrigue and espionage perfect for fans of Tom Clancy, L.T. Ryan, and Saul Herzog. Join Kate as she must leave the safety of her agency office behind and face the dangers of life as a field agent.

Grab your copy today!

300 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 18, 2025

Reviews

[bruce jankowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really liked this book. Reminds me of the greats.. Baldacci, Flynn, J. Jakes, Uris,
Clavell, Heinlein, J.R. R. Tolkien, and L.A. Meyer. { Last wrote Bloody Jack which will be a major movie some day}
Kate Malone wonderfully, easily well loved character.. great read..

Can't wait for his sequels

[John Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The thriller “Too Soon a Spy” by Jack Maconaghy is a good debut novel. I really enjoyed the novel.

The story begins in Saudi Arabia with an attack on a Saudi convoy carrying three American intelligence people as it paused at the entrance to air base. The Saudi general and intelligence agent are killed and an American analyst and support assistant are wounded. The attackers were four Sunni Saudis and one other unidentified attacker with a note written in Farsi.

When the analyst who specializes in Russia is ready to return to work, she is sent to Paris to meet with a high ranking Russian defector who requested her presence in the debrief. The Russians attack the safe house and the defector, the analyst, and another agent escape to an Israeli safe house. The Israeli’s are able to evacuate them to Israel. The defector gives them some critical information regarding the Russians are planning to deploy some nuclear warheads to Iran to focus the US on the region while preparing an attack on Lithuania to open a land corridor to the Kaliningrad area of Russia.

The story then covers the investigations into this information that includes action in Russia, Finland, Switzerland, England, and the US. It is a well told story with sufficient surprises to keep you interested in the story.

[Amanda Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Politics, espionage, and a badass female lead…. I’ll take it every day of the week. Finished in two days and immediately picked up the second book. Kate Malone is a great main character who I immediately liked. The analyst turned spy happened in a way that could be convincingly real… maybe? And the pace and writing was interesting. The political and international issues didn’t get too confusing and while she evades death a few too many times, it didn’t irritate me.

[Hal Pohlman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read !!!

I found this book refreshing. Taking a "novice" into the field, throwing a great deal of hurdles at her & forcing her to rely on limited field-training to survive !! That's just "refreshing" !!

Thank you for showing us what she was capable of doing. It was just excellent reading !!

I will read more of your works !!!

[Lesuse · Rating 5 out of 5]

We need more Kates!!

Excellent -- cannot stop reading no matter what else is going on in your life at the time!! We pray there are folks like these fighting for the US, ISRAEL, and all the other good guys out there!! Excellent plot, great character development. Bring on Book Two!! Cannot wait!!!

[Chani Kynes]

DNF. If you like spy thrillers and political intrigue, the 20% of this book I read was well written and I liked the main character. I often like spy thrillers when they stick to the main characters point of view, but I have no patience for politics. I have to deal with too much politicking in my day to day life to put up with it in my reading.

[Randy Wachs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not have high expectations for this book or this series. I have to admit after a couple of chapters I was getting drawn in and by the end of this book I am intrigued enough to read the second in the series when time permits. I read a lot of of this genre and I’ve grown a bit jaded. Still, there’s something about the character of Kate, which is a pleasant combination.

[Elayne Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thriller...an Understatement

Couldn't put this book down! Fast paced and full of action. I came to like Kate Malone and just as Talia said, she was indeed " bad assed". Don't think you'll be disappointed if you read this one.

[David Steinkamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Great characters.

My first book by Jack Maconaghy but I look forward to reading more. He does a great job developing characters and their stories. The story is very pertinent to today's headlines.

[Dr. Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read!

Wow…it was not what I thought…it was extremely better! I loved the characters, the plot, and the places. I really enjoyed Kate Malone and how she weaved in the book. Kudos to Mr. Maconaghy.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised. I don’t tend to read many spy novels. This was good. It kept my attention and the storyline was interesting and well thought out. The characters were believable and it definitely was action packed.

It made me reconsider reading more novels like this in the future.

[Jessica Ramirez · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book is so bad

I feel like this book was written for 8-12 year olds. I cannot believe it got any positive reviews. If your iq is greater than your shoe size, do yourself a favor and pass this one up.

[Kevin P Greenan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not very believable

While the pace is good, the story of a young, untrained analyst suddenly turning into a badass field agent who briefs senior US and Russian officials and gets medals from Mossad is too far-fetched.

[Douglas Eddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great spy thriller.

Could hardly put down! Totally held my attention! Looking to the next book of Kate Malone. Will be looking for it tonight!!

[saihelena🫶🏽🦊 · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was good, a little all over the place and sometimes hard to follow but very good! excited for the next book.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

[Joy S Parish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too Convenient

A rookie analyst makes all the right conclusions and becomes a national hero. The writing was good, but everything seemed too convenient and far-fetched.

[Øyvind Rygh · Rating 2 out of 5]

If the author is young, then promising, if not....

I found the scope too big for a too short a book... I hope book 2 might have more context

[Kathy Hannappel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun book to read!