A Reluctant Spy

by Roselyn Teukolsky

A dead husband. A brilliant hacker. A shadowy world of sex and money in a den of academic intrigue.

Madeline Geiger is a young computer scientist whose husband has recently died under suspicious circumstances. On the day of his funeral, Madeline is approached by an FBI agent who persuades her to go undercover in the Computer Science Department to find out who's providing encryption software to an illicit pornography ring.

Madeline is an introverted nerd and definitely not a spy. When she delves into the computers of her colleagues, she makes some devastating discoveries about her late husband and co-workers. Someone in her orbit is a killer who is onto her and has already murdered once. In order to survive, Madeline must emerge from the shadow of her late husband and outwit an antagonist who is luring her into a deadly game.

338 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 24, 2025

About the author

Roselyn Teukolsky was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand with a B.Sc. in Math and Chemistry. She immigrated to the US when she was 23, and graduated from Cornell University with an M.S. in Mathematics Education. She taught Math and Computer Science for many years, mostly at Ithaca High School in Upstate New York.

Roselyn retired from teaching in 2009. Since then she has worked full time as a writer of crime fiction. She lives in Pasadena, California, with her husband, Saul Teukolsky. A Reluctant Spy is her debut novel.

Reviews

[Becky Elrasheedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent read

Roselyn Teukolsky creates very believable and likable characters. I didn’t want the story to end I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

[Readers Choice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading crime fiction, and this time, I picked up A Reluctant Spy by Roselyn Teukolsky. The story begins with Madeline and her husband, Mike, celebrating their anniversary with a skydiving adventure. Tragically, Mike dies in what appears to be an accident. However, Detective Mahoney informs Madeline that she is treating his death as a homicide, launching an investigation.

Soon, a stranger named Joe Shelmann approaches Madeline, revealing that Mike was working undercover for him. His mission? To track down an encryption expert supplying software to illegal pornographers. Joe asks Madeline to continue Mike’s work by spying at Cornell. Though hesitant being a coward, she agrees—determined to uncover the truth about her husband's death.

Madeline’s sharp intellect shines throughout the book. Even Joe underestimates her in the beginning, keeping certain details from her. But what happens when she attempts to decrypt Mike’s file? Will she succeed? After all, she was the one who trained him.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The narration is smooth and engaging, and the plot kept me hooked until the very last page. It’s a gripping tale of mystery, secrets, and intellect. The title perfectly fits the story. I ended up binge-reading it over the weekend—fantastic work by Roselyn Teukolsky!

[Anita]

The story begins with a lovely sky diving adventure between Madeline and her husband, Mike; two brilliant researchers working at Cornell. The story quickly devolves into a disaster of multiple proportions. We discover that not only was Mike murdered, but Maddie approached by a strange man at Mike's funeral, telling her Mike was an informant, trying to find the culprits involved in a pornography ring at Cornell.

As brilliant as Maddy is, her spying skills are questionable. Wanting to find out who murdered her husband and why he was mixed up in this business, she takes on the task.

Needless to say, Maddy's attempts to hack into her co-workers computers are a disaster. Not only is she discovered; she is banned from Cornell. Although Maddy is crushed, both emotionally and physically from the accident, we find her in predicaments that are at once unbelievable and suspenseful.

Because of Maddy's absurd quest for the truth, it is difficult to know whether this is a drama or a comedy. Strange characters drop into her life. Who is trying to help her, and who is the enemy?

Maddy's brilliant decoding skills assist her in hacking into computers and discovering truths she wished she never knew. Her brilliance also endangers her life.

Is there a child pornography villain working undercover at Cornell. It this all a hoax? Maddy's journey to the truth is an interesting as the answer. Ms. Teukolsky's wit and talent skills keep you on your toes until the very end of the book

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This debut work of fiction was written by an older author who spent her career teaching computer science and writing nonfiction. However, she easily positions the reader inside the point-of-view of her heroine, a thirty-something master computer scientist named Madeline. She is “on the spectrum,” but despite her iffy social skills, is recruited to help identify the leader of a nasty gang of pornographers using encryption algorithms to keep their hideous, snuff videos on the Dark Web. Whether or not the author intended it, A Reluctant Spy also fits well into the recent trendy category of stories with “weird girl” protagonists, such as Bunny by Mona Awad, although this novel is a more conventional thriller. It begins with a vivid scene of a skydiving mishap that must have taken considerable research to craft and continues with a twisty plot and some truly unique characters that keep the reader, as well Madeline, guessing about which of her slimy academic colleagues in Cornell’s Computer Science Department (the author is careful to state that her novel is not based the the Real Computer Scientists of Cornell) are raking in the dollars by helping criminals torture and murder children in the name of sexual arousal. A fun read for summer, or any season.

[_sassy_39 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Reluctant Spy: A Novel of Suspense by Roselyn Teukolsky is an enthralling read. The story follows Madeline Geiger, a young computer scientist, who finds herself entangled in a dangerous investigation.
Detective Mahoney informs Madeline that she is treating Mike’s death as a homicide. To piece together the truth, Mahoney questions her extensively about their marriage. Mahoney explains that Mike’s parachute failed due to real knots in his chute—his rig had been tampered with.

Meanwhile, Joe Shelmann reveals that someone at Cornell is supplying encryption software to illegal pornographers. Since Mike was working undercover, Joe suspects the encryption expert may have played a role in his death. Now, it’s Madeline’s turn to go undercover. As she begins hacking into computers, she races against time to uncover the truth about Mike and her colleagues before leaving Cornell.

The gripping storyline kept me on edge from start to finish. The characters are well-developed, with Madeline’s intelligence and wit standing out. The book is well-paced, with no dull moments, making it impossible to put down once you start reading. The cover design is also appealing.

[Doris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roselyn Teukolsky has done the impossible—she made the IT world—something I dread and hate—fascinating. Roselyn writes well and fluidly, delivering
sharp turns of a phrases, tinged with humor and mystery. Who knew the computer world could be exciting? She tells a thoroughly engaging story.
Her language is lovely (“floating like Matisse dancers, high above the Earth),” the story is engaging, and there are always surprises around every corner that kept me rapt.
The characters are wonderful, a random cast including a loving mother, a dead husband, a mysterious eastern European, unkind (and possibly nefarious) academics, and, charming pets. And especially, the heroic, brilliant, Madeline, who survives grievous injuries both physical and emotional.

[Ruth Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

The complex intrigue of A Reluctant Spy captivated me so much that tearing myself away to get some much-needed sleep was challenging. I found myself working to unravel the mysteries within the mystery, grieving with Madeline, identifying with her being undervalued as a woman by colleagues, and loving how she used that to her advantage. Watching her personal growth added greatly to my enjoyment. Treat yourself to this delightful book

[Loren Power · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t mess with this skydiver.

Not your standard spy story. I really enjoyed the change. A super good computer programmer whose software was being stolen by her husband and sold to another programmer for pornography and lots of money. Good book.

[Logan Tanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, well written. But there were parts that felt a little long winded (that's probably my ADD). Also, the plot got a little thin in a couple places, but that might have been a result of the long-windedness.
Overall, enjoyable read with clear, real, relatable characters. Well done.

[Carol A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read! I couldn't put it down!

Murder Mystery set in the backdrop of Cornell University and Ithaca, New York. Somehow includes the computer hacking world, skydiving, as well as child pornography. You'll love the interesting and realistic characters. Great read!

[E.A. Briginshaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

This should have been a good story, but there were so many people with false identities that it became unbelievable.

[Cheryl Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

read over two days

Hard to put down. Did not have it figured out until the end. I enjoyed the academic setting and the complexity of the plot.