What do you think?
Rate this book
Spies Lie #4
Graynet
A spy quit and blackmailed her way out of the business. Now she finds the leverage needed to keep her alive falling apart…
Cassandra Sashakovich quit spying for her country. To do this, she blackmailed the White House to get her boyfriend, Lee Ainsley, released from Gitmo. She also rescued the teenager, Ann Silbee, from homelessness. Now they're safe and so is she. So everything should slowly become normal.
But Lee and Ann hate each other. Worse still, all those she broke and mangled on her mad run to survive want revenge.
Her life starts to unravel when the brother of murdered terrorists discovers it was Cassandra that killed them. Then the President's secret, the one she promised to keep hidden in exchange for her boyfriend's release, leaks to the press.
Her leverage is vaporizing.
It's time to run again…
Cassandra Sashakovich quit spying for her country. To do this, she blackmailed the White House to get her boyfriend, Lee Ainsley, released from Gitmo. She also rescued the teenager, Ann Silbee, from homelessness. Now they're safe and so is she. So everything should slowly become normal.
But Lee and Ann hate each other. Worse still, all those she broke and mangled on her mad run to survive want revenge.
Her life starts to unravel when the brother of murdered terrorists discovers it was Cassandra that killed them. Then the President's secret, the one she promised to keep hidden in exchange for her boyfriend's release, leaks to the press.
Her leverage is vaporizing.
It's time to run again…
- GenresAction
333 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 25, 2014
35 people are currently reading
284 people want to read
About the author
D.S. Kane
11 books52 followersDS Kane is the name I've chosen to write under. I worked in the field of covert intelligence for over a decade. During that time, my cover was my real name, and I was on the faculty of NYU's Stern Graduate School of Business. I traveled globally for clients including government and military agencies, the largest banks, and Fortune 100 corporations, and while in-country, I did side jobs for our government. One of the banks I investigated housed the banking assets of many of the world's intelligence agencies and secret police forces, including the CIA and NSA. Much of my work product was pure but believable fiction, lies I told, and truths I concealed. Secrets that—if revealed—might have gotten me killed. When my cover got blown, I fled the field and moved 3,000 miles.
Now, I'm a former spy, still writing fiction. Through my novels, I expose the way intelligence agencies craft fiction for sale to sway their countries and manipulate their national policy, driving countries into dangerous conflicts.
I've been published under my real name many times in financial trade journals on topics including global banking, computer fraud and countermeasures, financial forecasting, global electronic-funds transfer networks, and corporate finance, including one book on finance published by a major publisher. I've been a featured speaker at financial conferences and conventions. My children's book, A Teenager's Guide to Money, Banking and Finance, was published in 1987 by Simon & Schuster. I was once the CEO of an ebook publishing company.
I've been adjunct faculty at the Whidbey Island MFA program, and also teach a course at the Muse Online Writers Conference entitled Covert Training and Covert Operations for Fiction Writers, and taught one on a similar topic at California libraries, funded by a federal grant. I've taught a thriller-writing course at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference and was a featured speaker at a dinner meeting of the California Writers Club. I taught finance at the Stern Graduate Business School of New York University for over ten years, and am one of the co-founders of ActFourWriters.com, a unique email-based novelists' critique group.
Now, I'm a former spy, still writing fiction. Through my novels, I expose the way intelligence agencies craft fiction for sale to sway their countries and manipulate their national policy, driving countries into dangerous conflicts.
I've been published under my real name many times in financial trade journals on topics including global banking, computer fraud and countermeasures, financial forecasting, global electronic-funds transfer networks, and corporate finance, including one book on finance published by a major publisher. I've been a featured speaker at financial conferences and conventions. My children's book, A Teenager's Guide to Money, Banking and Finance, was published in 1987 by Simon & Schuster. I was once the CEO of an ebook publishing company.
I've been adjunct faculty at the Whidbey Island MFA program, and also teach a course at the Muse Online Writers Conference entitled Covert Training and Covert Operations for Fiction Writers, and taught one on a similar topic at California libraries, funded by a federal grant. I've taught a thriller-writing course at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference and was a featured speaker at a dinner meeting of the California Writers Club. I taught finance at the Stern Graduate Business School of New York University for over ten years, and am one of the co-founders of ActFourWriters.com, a unique email-based novelists' critique group.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 14, 2015
REVIEW: GrayNet by D. S. Kane [SpiesLie #4]
When your chosen career path is espionage or mercenary, your life expectancy is short, and your ending is most likely to be ugly. Such is especially true if your actions have angered the wrong people. Cassandra Shashakovich is an ex-spy, ex-mercenary, who is a target for a furious Middle Eastern dynasty. Even worse, she holds the secrets if a horribly corrupt U. S. President, a man devoid of moral fiber. All she wants is normality; but since when is that ever an achievable goal for spies?
Conspiracy theorists are sure to devour this novel.
When your chosen career path is espionage or mercenary, your life expectancy is short, and your ending is most likely to be ugly. Such is especially true if your actions have angered the wrong people. Cassandra Shashakovich is an ex-spy, ex-mercenary, who is a target for a furious Middle Eastern dynasty. Even worse, she holds the secrets if a horribly corrupt U. S. President, a man devoid of moral fiber. All she wants is normality; but since when is that ever an achievable goal for spies?
Conspiracy theorists are sure to devour this novel.
January 31, 2020
This is book four of the Spies Lie series and follows on from events in the last book, when the main characters Cassie (Cassandra) Sashakovich and her boyfriend Lee Ainsley, both former employees of the US government, managed to gain vengeance against terrorists in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan in coordinated attacks. Cassie found out that her own government had leaked her details to Arabic terrorists and tried to have her killed. Now she has a form of peace with her US counterparts, due to the facts she recovered on her raids, with which she has blackmailed those high up in government. Her main aim now is to get her boyfriend back from Gitmo, where he was taken to be tortured for details of her location.
Cassie had disappeared and used the skills taught to her by her former employers to raid the bank account of those terrorists and those funding them. She set up a company of mercenaries to help with this. Her focus is on trying to find the homeless girl, Ann that she had to leave in the subway tunnels, some six months ago, when she had to disappear and change her appearance, just to survive. She manages to find her and has to convince her to accompany her, for a chance at a better life. She then goes to pick up Lee after his battered body and mind is returned from Gitmo. He has suffered greatly and she takes control of all of their lives, not without some mistakes.
The people she left alive are now coming for revenge! One of the companies she looked to fund through her new business, is one which take bets on a possible negative outcome. You want someone killed, make a bet that they will still be alive in a set period. Then others can ramp up the bet for their own gains. She tries to get vengeance on a small medical fund which was taken over by a bigger pharmaceutical company before she could get her foot in, and all to make profit, against those that can ill afford it. She wanted all to be able to get access to a reasonably priced medicine or cancer cure, so now she placed a bounty on any pharma company CEO who didn’t help the most needy.
This site, called GrayNet, is one which comes back to bite her, as her enemies use the site against her to raise a bounty on her head. Just as she was lured to a grand hotel complex in Hawaii, on the premise of doing a security probe and was then to enjoy a holiday at last, left her under siege by hundreds if not thousands of amateur and professional killers. Zombie killers, those who have only a short time to live and wish to leave the bounty for their families, are desperate for the kill. Cassie is in danger and so are Lee and Ann.
Her life should now have been safe, but it soon starts to unravel. Ann doesn’t like Lee and although she is beginning to appreciate Cassie, progress and trust is slow to come. The secrets she is using to blackmail the president and her previous government employer, are being leaked to the press and others. Her promises of inaction on these facts is being taken out of her hands. Others know details of what she did and she is clearly being targeted by dangerous people. It is getting unsafe to stay where they are. Trying to escape the hordes of killers at the hotel in Hawaii is an epic battle that has many near misses and fatal consequences. If Cassie has to run, is she safer leaving Ann and Lee behind? Because if they are to come with her, they will continue to be targeted alongside her. She loves both Ann and Lee, but can’t face being responsible for any more deaths, especially those closest to her.
We get to meet her family and even her Uncle Misha in this book and it gives the reader a lot more background into her early life. She has managed to amass a great network of experts around her, including a hacker, military experts from around the world, even Israel and those with links to spies, mercenaries and more. The author has a lot of personal background into many of the scenarios placed in the storyline and makes each of the situations very realistic. Some may be over the top, but they are far from not being true or never having happened somewhere. One determined lady, with lots of skill and mainly persistence and a fine set of morals, who is simply trying to survive and stop those seeking to kill her from succeeding! Another great instalment in this series with loads of action, some stress relieving sex between mercenaries – which some don’t approve of, but is realistic in its role and fantastic characters. I received an ARC copy of this book from Hidden Gems and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
Cassie had disappeared and used the skills taught to her by her former employers to raid the bank account of those terrorists and those funding them. She set up a company of mercenaries to help with this. Her focus is on trying to find the homeless girl, Ann that she had to leave in the subway tunnels, some six months ago, when she had to disappear and change her appearance, just to survive. She manages to find her and has to convince her to accompany her, for a chance at a better life. She then goes to pick up Lee after his battered body and mind is returned from Gitmo. He has suffered greatly and she takes control of all of their lives, not without some mistakes.
The people she left alive are now coming for revenge! One of the companies she looked to fund through her new business, is one which take bets on a possible negative outcome. You want someone killed, make a bet that they will still be alive in a set period. Then others can ramp up the bet for their own gains. She tries to get vengeance on a small medical fund which was taken over by a bigger pharmaceutical company before she could get her foot in, and all to make profit, against those that can ill afford it. She wanted all to be able to get access to a reasonably priced medicine or cancer cure, so now she placed a bounty on any pharma company CEO who didn’t help the most needy.
This site, called GrayNet, is one which comes back to bite her, as her enemies use the site against her to raise a bounty on her head. Just as she was lured to a grand hotel complex in Hawaii, on the premise of doing a security probe and was then to enjoy a holiday at last, left her under siege by hundreds if not thousands of amateur and professional killers. Zombie killers, those who have only a short time to live and wish to leave the bounty for their families, are desperate for the kill. Cassie is in danger and so are Lee and Ann.
Her life should now have been safe, but it soon starts to unravel. Ann doesn’t like Lee and although she is beginning to appreciate Cassie, progress and trust is slow to come. The secrets she is using to blackmail the president and her previous government employer, are being leaked to the press and others. Her promises of inaction on these facts is being taken out of her hands. Others know details of what she did and she is clearly being targeted by dangerous people. It is getting unsafe to stay where they are. Trying to escape the hordes of killers at the hotel in Hawaii is an epic battle that has many near misses and fatal consequences. If Cassie has to run, is she safer leaving Ann and Lee behind? Because if they are to come with her, they will continue to be targeted alongside her. She loves both Ann and Lee, but can’t face being responsible for any more deaths, especially those closest to her.
We get to meet her family and even her Uncle Misha in this book and it gives the reader a lot more background into her early life. She has managed to amass a great network of experts around her, including a hacker, military experts from around the world, even Israel and those with links to spies, mercenaries and more. The author has a lot of personal background into many of the scenarios placed in the storyline and makes each of the situations very realistic. Some may be over the top, but they are far from not being true or never having happened somewhere. One determined lady, with lots of skill and mainly persistence and a fine set of morals, who is simply trying to survive and stop those seeking to kill her from succeeding! Another great instalment in this series with loads of action, some stress relieving sex between mercenaries – which some don’t approve of, but is realistic in its role and fantastic characters. I received an ARC copy of this book from Hidden Gems and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
February 5, 2020
This fourth book in the Spies Lie series by DS Kane was certainly a non-stop suspense-filled action-adventure as the reader just never knew who was going to be trying to kill Cassie the ex-spy or her family members, Lee and Ann. Some were attempts for revenge while others were attempts to hide betrayal and even treason and some others were to make a pile of money before they died. There were massive body counts along with some blood shed, but nothing really described in too vivid or gory detail. The story continually asked "would they ever be safe" and that is for the reader to find out. This is a voluntary review of an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from Hidden Gems Books.
November 7, 2018
A Net Plus
Loved the first three books in this series - exciting plots (a bit "out there" but good), characters one could care about, and lots of good twists and turns. This book has a good plot and excitement, but is really too far out for me. Had the author had two dozen hitters, it would have been more plausible. Also, one bad editing mistake ... a whole section repeated in two chapters. All that said, i have already downloaded the next book.
Loved the first three books in this series - exciting plots (a bit "out there" but good), characters one could care about, and lots of good twists and turns. This book has a good plot and excitement, but is really too far out for me. Had the author had two dozen hitters, it would have been more plausible. Also, one bad editing mistake ... a whole section repeated in two chapters. All that said, i have already downloaded the next book.
November 11, 2017
Adrenalin rush junkies have to read this.
I could not put this book down. So many twists and turns. What an adrenalin rush. I'm straight into the next book
I could not put this book down. So many twists and turns. What an adrenalin rush. I'm straight into the next book
December 17, 2018
Complex but rewarding espionage technothriller.
July 14, 2015
“In the fourth novel in the Spies Lie series, an array of foes are still out to kill former covert operative Cassandra Sashakovich, despite her efforts to settle down with her boyfriend and adopted daughter.
At the close of the previous installment (Swiftshadow, 2014), Cassie had successfully overseen the deaths of the two terrorist brothers who had tried to kill her. However, just because Tariq and Pesi Houmaz are dead does not mean Cassie’s problems are over. Her boyfriend, Lee Ainsley, has been sent to Guantanamo Bay under false charges, and while she’s able to blackmail the government in order to free him, her actions don’t make her any new friends. In fact, the president of the United States himself wants her dead. Despite this threat, Cassie attempts to settle down in suburban Maryland with Lee and adopted daughter Ann Silbee, a homeless teenager she met in the tunnels underneath the streets of New York while on the run. Unfortunately, Lee and Ann clash immediately, both still suffering from traumatic events in their pasts. To top it all off, there is a third Houmaz brother, and he wants revenge for his brothers’ deaths. When a call for Cassie’s assassination is posted on GrayNet—a website that allows visitors to bet on life and death with potentially huge payouts—thousands of professional killers and desperate amateurs set out to be the one to deliver her head to Houmaz. Author Kane continues to deliver solid thrills chock full of international intrigue and shocking ideas that get the conspiracy wheels turning. The addition of Ann to the sprawling cast heightens the stakes even further. Cassie remains a frequently frustrating protagonist; she’s so stubborn and demanding to those she calls friends, it’s a wonder she has any. Yet her ingenuity and will to survive against such insane odds will make readers root for her nonetheless.
Nonstop action and suspense starring the definition of a strong female lead.” – Kirkus Reviews
At the close of the previous installment (Swiftshadow, 2014), Cassie had successfully overseen the deaths of the two terrorist brothers who had tried to kill her. However, just because Tariq and Pesi Houmaz are dead does not mean Cassie’s problems are over. Her boyfriend, Lee Ainsley, has been sent to Guantanamo Bay under false charges, and while she’s able to blackmail the government in order to free him, her actions don’t make her any new friends. In fact, the president of the United States himself wants her dead. Despite this threat, Cassie attempts to settle down in suburban Maryland with Lee and adopted daughter Ann Silbee, a homeless teenager she met in the tunnels underneath the streets of New York while on the run. Unfortunately, Lee and Ann clash immediately, both still suffering from traumatic events in their pasts. To top it all off, there is a third Houmaz brother, and he wants revenge for his brothers’ deaths. When a call for Cassie’s assassination is posted on GrayNet—a website that allows visitors to bet on life and death with potentially huge payouts—thousands of professional killers and desperate amateurs set out to be the one to deliver her head to Houmaz. Author Kane continues to deliver solid thrills chock full of international intrigue and shocking ideas that get the conspiracy wheels turning. The addition of Ann to the sprawling cast heightens the stakes even further. Cassie remains a frequently frustrating protagonist; she’s so stubborn and demanding to those she calls friends, it’s a wonder she has any. Yet her ingenuity and will to survive against such insane odds will make readers root for her nonetheless.
Nonstop action and suspense starring the definition of a strong female lead.” – Kirkus Reviews
August 22, 2015
I read Gray Net (Book 4 of the Spies Lie Series) and the associated earlier books as a result of the opportunity to receive an advance copy of the 5th book, Baksheesh in exchange for a fair review.
Based on Book 5, I decided to go back to the beginning of the series to get the whole story. I am glad I did.
Gray Net was not only an interesting read, but it also showed the progression of characters that I have truly come to enjoy. Most of the writing is very compelling, with a great balance between thought, action, and description. While I really enjoyed the hacking, the strategic thinking, and tactical sequences, I did find the graphic sexual scenes/erotica to be a bit much for my taste. That having been said, as in most of the DS Kane works I have read thus far, it is easy for the reader to skim or skip these sections if the reader is so inclined.
I have been very pleased with the character development, pacing of the plot, and the twists and turns in the action-packed stories. I particularly liked how DS Kane developed the concept for the use of technology and human behaviors in this book. I will be picking up book 5 again soon so that I can read it again with all of the backstory.
Another very good read from D.S. Kane - I am already looking forward to book 6.
Based on Book 5, I decided to go back to the beginning of the series to get the whole story. I am glad I did.
Gray Net was not only an interesting read, but it also showed the progression of characters that I have truly come to enjoy. Most of the writing is very compelling, with a great balance between thought, action, and description. While I really enjoyed the hacking, the strategic thinking, and tactical sequences, I did find the graphic sexual scenes/erotica to be a bit much for my taste. That having been said, as in most of the DS Kane works I have read thus far, it is easy for the reader to skim or skip these sections if the reader is so inclined.
I have been very pleased with the character development, pacing of the plot, and the twists and turns in the action-packed stories. I particularly liked how DS Kane developed the concept for the use of technology and human behaviors in this book. I will be picking up book 5 again soon so that I can read it again with all of the backstory.
Another very good read from D.S. Kane - I am already looking forward to book 6.
July 5, 2016
Really?
I know fiction is just that- fiction. But even fiction needs a modicum of believability. This tale goes beyond the most charitable bounds of fiction. I stuck with this because I
Have enjoyed the previous three books. This offering was so absurd that I may not bother with the rest.
I know fiction is just that- fiction. But even fiction needs a modicum of believability. This tale goes beyond the most charitable bounds of fiction. I stuck with this because I
Have enjoyed the previous three books. This offering was so absurd that I may not bother with the rest.
January 17, 2018
Another good story by Mr. Kane. Fourth book in the series. Very intense in spots. Travel around the world by book. Guns, travel, murder, boats and ships, and even a sub or two. Don't forget a little sex here and there.
Now on to the next book in this series.
Now on to the next book in this series.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews