The Good Spy

Yuri Kirov #1

by Jeffrey Layton

"The excitement never stops . . . high adventure at its very best." --New York Times bestselling author Gayle Lynds

In the icy waters of the northern Pacific, a top-secret mission threatens to explode into a nuclear crisis . . .

A Russian military spy sub lies marooned in American waters near the U.S.-Canadian border. Yuri Kirov, a seasoned security officer, is in charge of the crew's safety--and the operation's success. His only hope is to make a death-defying underwater escape, reach shore undetected, and convince a total stranger that the fate of the world depends on helping him. For software engineer Laura Newman, it's not an easy choice. But with two Russian spies tailing them, and tensions escalating between superpowers, one wrong move could trigger unthinkable devastation.

In the tradition of Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October, this electrifying novel of espionage is a gripping tale of danger, courage, and daring decisions.

Includes an exciting excerpt from the next Yuri Kirov thriller, The Forever Spy.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Espionage, Mystery, Military Fiction

439 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 23, 2016

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great spy story. There was lots of action, excitement, suspense, intrigue and even a little romance.
This is the first time that I have read a book written by Jeffrey Layton. I like his style of writing. Jeffrey Layton's attention to details and descriptions brought the story "alive." I empathized with Laura Newman and Yuri Kirov and had to keep reading to find out what would happen next...A page turner.

Thanks to Jeffrey Layton, Goodreads, Pinnacle Books and Kensington Publishing Corporation who gave me an advance uncorrected proof of this book in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars ⭐️️⭐️️⭐️️⭐️️⭐️️

[Jennice Mckillop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Big time loved it.
The story is full of technical stuff & nautical maneuvers & Russian swear words, but rather than turning one off, it’s so well written that you’ll read through it, envisioning ever procedure & effort to rescue the crew on the Russian submarine. U want them rescued!
Great adventure in the spy genre.
Highly recommended.

[Jenae Lovercamp Hulsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fun story! Very action packed and easy to fly through the 400+ pages. Different genre from what I usually read, but would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a sea based adventure story.

[Tom Tischler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Russian military sub lies marooned in American waters near the Canadian border.
Yuri Kirov a seasoned security officer is in charge of the crews safety. His only hope
is to make a death defying underwater escape, reach shore undetected and convince
a total stranger that the fate of the world depends on helping him. He finds a soft-
ware engineer named Laura Newman and this is not an easy choice for her. They now
have two Russian spies trailing them and tensions are escalating between superpowers.
One wrong move can trigger unthinkable devastation. This is a good story with a good
bit of action. It's also the first book in the Yuri Koslov series. The next one will be out
in April of 2017. I know that I'll be waiting. I gave it a 4.

[David Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Good Spy, by Jeffrey Layton, is my one hundred sixty-sixth book that I have received and read from Goodreads. I really enjoyed this spy story. This book has lots of action, suspense, intrigue, and excitement for all those people who like romance, it even has a bit of that.
This is a story about a Russian submarine, that is stuck at the bottom. It's off the coast of Canada/United States. This story has a potential political ramifications. This story reads like a Tom Clancy novel.
Yuri, a officer trained in deep dive escapes has to leave the submarine after an accidental explosion, off the coast of Canada and the United States. The sub is stuck at the bottom in mud. Yuri escapes to try to summons Russian Navel assistance to try to save his crew mates and the submarine. Yuri while assending lost all sensation below the left knee, it was dead meat, Yuri was ascending and suffered an acute case of the bends. He had to stay focused and make it to shore, not get caught, call for help, and then coordinate the rescue. . He came ashore in Point Reberta.
Yuri comes in contact with a woman named Laura commanders her and the house she is renting. Laura is hiding away from her abusive husband. I am not going to give away the rest of the story, only to say. This book is full of action and suspense, it has a drunkard ex husband who tries to steal Laure back by going to the officials. It has the Russians trying to figure out if the submarine and the crew are expendable or not.
I would like to thank Goodreads and the author Jeffery Layton for picking me to read this book..

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be a pretty entertaining debut novel. Yuri Kirov quickly finds himself engaged in a rescue mission rather than a spy mission and to complicate things even more he finds himself falling in love with Laura who could compromise the Russians at any time. It will be interesting to see where Layton takes the series from here.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful find, a new series that I wasn't aware of! I love this author, Jeffrey Layton, for his "fast-paced espionage fiction" as the book jacket describes! Also, since this series started in 2016, there are many more new books to be read, binge-wise! I know the next one is titled "The Forever Spy" and came out in 2017, and I am going after it next!

[Portia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was terrible. I only finished it because I wanted to find out what happened and even that was anticlimactic. Way too much detail about subs and it was slow and did not keep my attention Really wish I would have just stopped reading it instead of torturing myself!

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of stories within the story to keep reader guessing about characters. While I was pretty close to the ending in general terms, there were quite a few unexpected events late in the book. My first book with Kirov character and I will return.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

The "Good Spy" is a fast paced read with an intriguing story line.

Thank you GoodReads for the book.

Review will follow.

[Kelly Kirby · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not, in any way, move past his infantile, ridiculous descriptions of women. I wanted a page turner and had to shut it down at "jeans glued to her exquisite butt" because, just, no.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this novel! Look forward to reading the next in series.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Competent, but cluttered with more plotlines and technical detail about submarines than interest me.

[Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story that keeps you coming back to reach the conclusion. Some of the character behavior is a bit predictable but the book was enjoyable.

[Debbie Wiseman]

Nook Free Friday. Currently this book is only available as an e-reader. Too bad. It is an engaging read.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good read plot was interesting

[Eddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot about submarines and decompression from deep dives. Interesting story and now I’ll probably continue the series.

[Andree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written and researched but the end left me wanting. Maybe it's a lead up to the second book. I would recommend this to military adventure reader.

[Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

To the Netflix Executive reading this right now, this would make an incredible TV series.

[Kathleen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book isn't for people not knowledgeable about naval missions and submarines. I found it to be ridiculously unbelievable. I don't recommend it.

[James Boswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

About Russian spy trying to save his compatriots in questionable foreign waters.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed it enough to read the next book in the series

[Texjim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fast moving thriller. Reminiscent of Red October, the Neva was prowling just west of Seattle on a mission to scout a specialized torpedo range on the western Canadian coast. When an accidental explosion in his own weapons compartment kills half the crew, the sub flounders and finds itself mired in the muck on the bottom of the channel. One officer, Yuri, a trained deep diver escapes to try to summon Russian naval assistance to save the remaining crew without alerting any US or Canadian officials. He comes ashore in Point Roberts an isolated beach community west of the mainland. Laura, trying to escape her abusive husband, is temporarily hiding out in a beach rental at the Point. Yuri is suffering from an acute case of the bends and in desperation, commandeers Laura's is home. Laura is concerned about Yuri's crew and agrees to help. The rescue sub is inadvertently detected and forced to turn back. Moscow then determines the crew are expendable. From there on, the action rocks along complicated with pathologically drunk ex-husbands, assorted Soviet agents, and dedicated assassins trying to assure that Yuri, the crew, and anyone else who might know anything are dutifully eliminated.

This is great fun read with lots of suspense, twists and turns. I finished the 490 page, page turner in three days. The writing is clear and to the point. There is a lot of technical information about diving and submarines. One loose end for me was that the stranded Neva was accidentally detected and reported by a marine biology listening post. I expected that to figure prominently at some point but it did not. There are really no objectionable adult situations, language or violence. If you like Tom Clancy, I suspect you will like this one.

[Lori Tatar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give The Good Spy by Jeffrey Layton four stars. Although it lacks depth (no pun intended, considering much of the story is centered around events that occur on a submarine), I couldn't help but be pulled into the story. It has elements that just seem too typical for a spy novel, but the character-driven plot makes the read plenty worthwhile. With a strong female protagonist accompanied by light romance, as well as a violent, deluded ex, there were plenty of reasons to keep turning pages. The book is also a great illustration of Stockholm Syndrome. There is plenty of action throughout and suspense as questions arise in regards to the safety of about three dozen Russians aboard a crippled military submarine in U.S. waters. Will they perish or be captured? Read it and find out for yourself!

[Laura Beasley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Won this book in Goodreads First Reads. I really enjoyed this book. Had a different plot that kept me intrigued. Laura has left her abusive husband and moved out to a place he was not aware of when she wakes up and someone has broken it. It is Yuri Kirov who is a Russian spy that is has been able to get off a submarine that has sunk and is trying to get help for the other people on board. At first he keeps Laura as a prisoner but gradually his trust in her grows and she starts to help him. Then her husband finds her and thinks Yuri is her lover and he is out for revenge. Two other Russian undercover spies come to help but only one is really supportive of Yuri's plan. The Russian government is really not interested in saving the crew on the submarine but Yuri and Laura come up with a plan that works. I want to read more books by this author and about Yuri and Laura. Good story.

[Michael Collins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely ridiculous storyline. The characters are developed in a way that makes the whole book completely unbelievable. Throw in a smattering of what can only be called "dime store" romance, and you're left with a jumbled mess of what is supposed to be a spy novel, but ends up somewhere between a made-for-TV movie and the Jerry Springer show. I'm pretty sure the author has never known an alcoholic, a Russian spy, an Intelligence Officer, and he sure as heck doesn't understand women. Tom Clancy he is not.

[Doreen Drapeau · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the book at night. I found it interesting and enjoyed the story but it did not move fast. At times it was dragging. I was glad they managed to stay together at the end and that the husband who was an idiot did not win our.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. I initially thought that I wouldn't like it as I'm not usually into spy novels. However, I was quite pleased at how it kept me intrigued and interested. I'm a sucker for romance, so I like that there was a bit of that too. Overall, a good read!

[Binston Birchill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book through goodreads giveaways.

A very enjoyable and fast read. A submarine adventure with potential political ramifications. A shorter version of a Tom Clancy type of story.

[Ryan Hillis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great Russian spy thriller!!