The Killing Ploy

by Steve Haberman

A disgraced CIA contract spy gets disastrously entangled in a "fake news" ploy to capture in Europe a much wanted American terrorist.

314 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 8, 2012

Reviews

[Angela Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pablo de Silva is a former CIA tracker and shooter who is being haunted by the memory of his last mission, when he failed to save the lives of a fellow agent and lover. In this present day, he’s been trying to work through his failure, but it isn’t so easy when his colleagues are holding him in such low regard because of such failure. When his former boss calls him home on a new assignment, he quickly begins to realize that he’s fallen into a dangerous web.

The Killing Ploy was an interesting read. For the first half of the story, though, I found myself slugging through. The characters weren’t rounded out as I liked and a lot of the times the dialogue didn’t quite fit who they were as people. And while the scenery was developed wonderfully in the narrative (marvelous job at that. Coming from somewhere that doesn’t travel to exotic places, I felt I was there), there were a lot of times when I felt the sentence was incomplete. For example: She could remember their panicky flight out to the terrace, stumbling down the steep bluff, and struggling up some dunes to her Mercedes. After that, though, a fog as to why they had escaped to RCB. I can see what the author is saying in the last sentence, but it, like many others, don’t really sit that well with me.

The second half was much better than the first. I can see a better grip on the writing and details. While the dialogue still wasn’t up to par, I found myself getting a little more into the story, wanting to find out how it would end.

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[Henry Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fast-paced, intelligent, and well-written novel about one troubled CIA spy tracking down a vicious terrorist, and his handlers, who see his assignment in another, more cynical light. The spy is Pablo da Silva, a talented, multilingual agent able to move easily across borders and through various cultures and strata of society. As we first see him, he is exiled in a remote assignment after a misadventure that left two victims and ruined his reputation. His agency recalls him to Langley because of his unique background and talents and, despite doubts about his fitness, assigns him to help the FBI investigate a murder that may be linked to terrorist activity. This he does, and winds up in a shootout with a suspect in San Diego in which he does not distinguish himself but does obtain valuable evidence. The evidence suggests a link to a notorious American-born jihadist responsible for several terrorist bombings. His name is Billy Foster, but he has countless Arabic aliases.

Da Silva's agency boss then gives him what seems the impossible task of finding Foster. Foster has long been operating successfully from deep cover and may be hiding anywhere. Da Silva is to perform his mission alone, using his own devices and contacts, starting with scant evidence. He narrows the search to Western Europe, and follows leads from England to Switzerland, Germany, France, and Belgium. The author evokes the shape and atmosphere of these places with considerable skill. This reader found the European locations considerably more interesting to read about than Virginia, Washington, DC, or San Diego (even with a side trip to Tijuana), and make the second half of the book more colorful than the first.

[Deborahazzi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I kept forcing myself to pick up this book and continue reading. It just couldn't keep me coming back for more