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Shadows of the Kestrel
He didn't know the system had a name for him.
He didn't know the name was Kestrel.
When a covert handoff goes lethal, operative Tavian Corvus recovers a drive he wasn't supposed to survive long enough to open. Buried inside: his own name, flagged at ninety-one percent probability by a shadow program that has been quietly resolving inconvenient operatives for eleven years.
Forty-three people. Now him.
The program doesn't improvise. It models. It has already calculated his likely routes, his probable contacts, the handlers he trusts and shouldn't. It has been running his pattern for longer than he's known it existed. The only thing it cannot account for is a man who understands exactly how he's being read — and chooses, deliberately, to become unreadable.
His handler is running a play he hasn't been told about. Falcon is pulling strings from somewhere Tavian can't locate. And the leak feeding his position to the enemy is inside the network he built himself.
Shadows of the Kestrel is a novel about what it costs to trust the machinery you were trained to serve — and what it takes to dismantle it from the inside when the machinery decides you're a liability.
For readers of John le Carré, Jason Matthews, and Daniel Silva.
He didn't know the name was Kestrel.
When a covert handoff goes lethal, operative Tavian Corvus recovers a drive he wasn't supposed to survive long enough to open. Buried inside: his own name, flagged at ninety-one percent probability by a shadow program that has been quietly resolving inconvenient operatives for eleven years.
Forty-three people. Now him.
The program doesn't improvise. It models. It has already calculated his likely routes, his probable contacts, the handlers he trusts and shouldn't. It has been running his pattern for longer than he's known it existed. The only thing it cannot account for is a man who understands exactly how he's being read — and chooses, deliberately, to become unreadable.
His handler is running a play he hasn't been told about. Falcon is pulling strings from somewhere Tavian can't locate. And the leak feeding his position to the enemy is inside the network he built himself.
Shadows of the Kestrel is a novel about what it costs to trust the machinery you were trained to serve — and what it takes to dismantle it from the inside when the machinery decides you're a liability.
For readers of John le Carré, Jason Matthews, and Daniel Silva.
Paperback
Published August 1, 2026
About the author
James Lee Haner
3 books1 followerJames Lee Haner writes under the Thought Boundary imprint from Nampa, Idaho, where his best plotting happens on long walks with his two Corgis. His debut novels — Shadows of the Kestrel, an espionage thriller following operative Tavian Corvus through the world of handlers, defectors, and Cold War-legacy tradecraft, and Consciousness Zero, a literary science fiction novel exploring grief, consciousness, and consent in the age of optimization — mark the beginning of two ongoing series.
A U.S. Air Force veteran who completed doctoral work at the University of Idaho, James also teaches program and project management, delivering PMP, PMI-ACP, and related certification exam prep through Brain Sensei. When he's not writing or teaching, he's active in a local storytelling group and book club and is currently developing a memorial piece honoring a friend who died in military service in Southeast Asia.
A U.S. Air Force veteran who completed doctoral work at the University of Idaho, James also teaches program and project management, delivering PMP, PMI-ACP, and related certification exam prep through Brain Sensei. When he's not writing or teaching, he's active in a local storytelling group and book club and is currently developing a memorial piece honoring a friend who died in military service in Southeast Asia.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 11, 2026
Great
I liked the book, Shadows of the Kestrel, because of the fast pace. It kept my interest, I read the whole book in one night.
I liked the book, Shadows of the Kestrel, because of the fast pace. It kept my interest, I read the whole book in one night.
June 14, 2026
A spy discovers a secret kill list and his name is on it. Yeah, I was hooked immediately.
Shadows of the Kestrel follows Tavian Corvus, a covert operative who survives a mission gone wrong and recovers a classified drive.
Inside, he finds evidence of Kestrel, a hidden program that’s been identifying and eliminating operatives for over a decade. Forty-three people have already been “resolved.” Tavian is next.
The terrifying part? Kestrel doesn’t just track targets. It predicts them. The program already knows Tavian’s habits, contacts, safe routes, and likely decisions.
As he digs deeper, he realizes the people he trusts may be working against him, and someone inside his own network is leaking information.
I loved how this wasn’t just a run-for-your-life thriller. It’s a battle of intelligence, strategy, and trust.
Tavian’s only chance of survival is to become completely unpredictable and stay one step ahead of a system designed to know him better than he knows himself.
If you love spy thrillers with secret programs, betrayals, conspiracies, and high-stakes cat-and-mouse games, Shadows of the Kestrel is a fast-paced read that keeps you questioning everyone until the very last page.
Shadows of the Kestrel follows Tavian Corvus, a covert operative who survives a mission gone wrong and recovers a classified drive.
Inside, he finds evidence of Kestrel, a hidden program that’s been identifying and eliminating operatives for over a decade. Forty-three people have already been “resolved.” Tavian is next.
The terrifying part? Kestrel doesn’t just track targets. It predicts them. The program already knows Tavian’s habits, contacts, safe routes, and likely decisions.
As he digs deeper, he realizes the people he trusts may be working against him, and someone inside his own network is leaking information.
I loved how this wasn’t just a run-for-your-life thriller. It’s a battle of intelligence, strategy, and trust.
Tavian’s only chance of survival is to become completely unpredictable and stay one step ahead of a system designed to know him better than he knows himself.
If you love spy thrillers with secret programs, betrayals, conspiracies, and high-stakes cat-and-mouse games, Shadows of the Kestrel is a fast-paced read that keeps you questioning everyone until the very last page.
November 7, 2026
Get pulled into a mystery around one man who has been profiled to cause problems for those around him. Follow him as he tries to find out what is going on and how he could become unreadable. See all the twists and turns as he tries to fool everyone around him. A brilliant mystery
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and a brilliant read
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and a brilliant read
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews