The Sisters: A Novel of Betrayal

by Robert Littell

Two Cold War-era CIA veterans plot the perfect crime in this spy thriller by the New York Times–bestselling author of The Company.In what Christopher Lehmann-Haupt of The New York Times called “the plot of plots,” Robert Littell has created the CIA “legends” Francis and Carroll, dubbed by their cohorts as “The Sisters Death and Night.” But few know what these enigmatic and extremely dangerous operatives do. They plot—and they’re plotting the perfect crime. They’ve located the perfect pawn—the Potter, the exiled ex-head of the KGB sleeper school—and, with artful deception, the Sisters coerce him into betraying his last and best sleeper, the man he considers his son. Once awakened, this sleeper, an assassin living secretly in the U.S., will launch a mission of death—unless the Potter, in a desperate race against time, can stop his protege from committing the Sisters’ perfect and world-shattering crime . . . Praise for The Sisters“A gripping spy thriller. . . . Littell brilliantly weaves quirky characters and puzzle-piece vignettes into an intricate, bizarre and highly entertaining tale.” —Publishers Weekly“Engrossing. . . . Right up there with the novels of Le Carré, Deighton, and the rest of the best.” —People

Genres: Fiction, Espionage, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Spy Thriller, Mystery, Action

318 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

An American author residing in France. He specializes in spy novels that often concern the CIA and the Soviet Union. He became a journalist and worked many years for Newsweek during the Cold War. He's also an amateur mountain climber and is the father of award-winning novelist Jonathan Littell.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is probably one of the best spy novels I've ever read.

[Piku Sonali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Espionage thrillers are a love that I keep coming back to, a love I can't cheat on. And by the way of story, Littell's The Sisters offers a story that is not only well-constructed but also remains enjoyable for most part. The Sisters are actually a pair of CIA think-tanks who activate a 'sleeper' to commit the world's perfect crime. The plot goes haywire in between but it all ties in together to reach a clever end. The inner political workings of the CIA are also explained in terrific detail. A decent read for fans of spy thrillers. I think I'm going to start reading more of Littell now.

[Gena · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say -- I like Littell's way of telling a story, his characters and the genre.

[Jak60 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fine book for me, Littell confirms his ability to master the genre artfully, though The Sister looks a little artificial at a few levels: the plot is very well constructed, actually even too much, almost too clever; the two heroes - the sisters - a little over-characterised to be real.
Anyway, we are talking details, this remains a very enjoyable and well written espionage thriller.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The early 1960s. The Cold War at its hottest. Two CIA agents, who began with the OSS during World War II. Soviet spies and sleepers. Plots within plots within plots. To say more is to give it away. Definitely a compelling read.

[Preuit · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked The Company very much and hoped this was equally engaging. A good mystery and always strong on CIA/KGB lore. Did not become attached to any of the characters but still enjoyed.

[Yves Panis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Attention du lourd du très lourd. Du grand Littell. Et encore je suis gentil je ne raconte pas l'histoire sauf qu'il s'agit de celle d'un agent dormant russe réveillé pour accomplir une mission. Mais Avec Littell c'est évidemment beaucoup plus compliqué que ça en a l'air....

[Darwin8u · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe 3.5 stars, maybe. Spy vs spy. Country vs country. Sisters and cousins. Me, the enemy is me. Clever, but almost an overly forced clever. Too many twos. Don, maybe I was ruined because I read a different and better version of the same book written by Delillo. Still, glad I read it still.

[Karthik M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only Robert Littell and John Le Carre can pull me into a spy novel so deep, but for a change, The Sisters felt more like a Coen brothers movie than a deep dive into the cold Cold War era.
The plot moves at breakneck speed, but the characters and settings is decidedly Littell-noir.
As always, the Russsia-centric discusssion on ideology vs idealism is first-rate!!

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, Cold War spy thriller. Pretty much exactly what I was looking for! Not as good as The Company, obviously, but I learned some new spy tricks!

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vintage Littell - complex characters involved in spying. Very entertaining as are all his books.

[Armin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Süffige Agentengroteske vor dem Hintergrund des Kennedy-Attentats, gewissermaßen Alternative History mit neuen Tätern. Für mich das geistreiche Kontrastprogramm zu James Ellroys monotoner Underworld-Trilogie. Zusätzlicher Chaosfaktor im Verwirrspiel um spät enttarnte Doppelagenten und missbrauchte Loyalitäten ist die Tatsache, dass der US-Präsident im Text nie als Ziel bezeichnet wird, sondern ein Reichsprinz. Erst bei der Ankunft am Ziel wird klar, dass es sich um Dallas handelt, während die bekannten Lokalitäten bis hin zum Hügel des zweiten Schützen ausgespäht und auf eventuelle Brauchbarkeit geprüft werden.

[David Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent spy story, my first by this author, but certainly not the last. Some interesting characters and a plot that as the book progressed looked more and more like the real events in Dallas in 1963.

[MOJIRE]

this book is really wonderful, it is super entertaining and I really liked this great book, apart from it is super interesting, I highly recommend it for people to read it and be entertained with this great book

[Lis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un buon romanzo di spionaggio, ma non ai livelli di The Company

[Phenomene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took a while to get into the plot, which was quite complicated with several strands. But they came together cleverly at the end. Worth recommending.

[Steve Gutin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding spy story. Well-planned, well-written.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast paced and intense spy thriller... very enjoyable... want to guess what the "perfect crime" is?

[dagine · Rating 5 out of 5]

bi gün walt whitman delisi olursam bu kitap yüzündendir

[Nigel Pinkus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A superb espionage thriller with plenty of twists and turns that keeps you guessing well after it has finished. Robert Littell, who is probably best known for his novel and subsequent series called 'Legends' starring Sean Bean, has had one of his best novels re-released by his publishing company. Even though it was set back in the cold war days, it is still well worth a read to not only re-visit that time, but also to enjoy a fairly short (only 300 pages in length) but turbo charged action packed story line.

It is complex without being too complicated with a conclusive ending. Two quirky CIA agents, Francis and Carroll, dubbed "The Sisters Death and Night" who are actually men, have a diabolical plan and on top of that they have a back up plan too. If the plan fails, then blame the Russians and if their plan succeeds, then they still blame the Russians (for the 'collateral' damage). But, (there's always a but) beware of the blind (Russian) man because, even though he doesn't get much of a mention in the overall story, he has a very clever role to play. Perhaps, it's a bit unfair to single out one character in the story because there were so many that were very good. Some other interesting characters included, but weren't limited to the Potter and his wife, a director of KGB Department 13, two Canadian killers who were Russian 'sweepers', and G. Sprowls a company utility fielder who specialized in tying up 'loose ends'.

This novel by Robert Little sits proudly on my bookcase along with some of the best work of John le Carre, Eric Ambler, Len Deighton and Graham Greene. So if you see it in a book shop somewhere, if you still go to those, please don't hesitate in buying it. You'll be happy that you did!

[Ron Welton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sisters of Robert Littell's eponymous The Sisters are two long time extremely successful CIA agents, Francis, and Carroll, "minor legends in the Company." Over the years, the two, once labeled by a Company PhD. as "the sisters Death and Night" have developed an agency of two within the Company and have managed to plot their own operations with minimal oversight.
The novel opens with the acceptance of their proposal for a vague "odds and ends" operation to the Deputy Director.
Some of the pleasure in reading Littell's novels comes from the constant search for clarification. Littell puts us in the dark but allows a narrow beam of information to keep us stumbling in pursuit of what is intended and what is really happening. We learn enough about the sisters to access their capabilities, and we know they have a plan, so nefarious that it must be carried out by the Soviets, and we know that they anticipate a spectacular success if the plot comes to fruition.
Along the way we meet fascinating characters: the Potter, Feliks Arkantevich Turov; his ditzy wife, Svetochka, who speaks of herself in the third person, the Blind Man, very much in charge; Oskar, an operative; Appleyard, the sound effects sweeper, and his partner, Ourcq.
The Sisters is a tortuous journey, often puzzling and sometimes amusing, occasionally touching and never dull.

[William S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This gets four stars for spycraft, and two for political acumen. Basically it explains Dallas, 1963 in terms of a convoluted spy turning. I did enjoy the spycraft and clearly the author knows that trade, but the politics were clumsy at best. How a sleeper could be directed to Dallas many years later on the basis of a prearranged plan that somehow can be changed at will, asks too much of the reader's imagination.

[JC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange book, all of the characters were sort of fascinatingly disturbing. Enjoyable but it left me scratching my head wondering what the author was trying to say about people in the subtext below the spy story. Definitely need to read another Littell to see what he's getting at

[Sarah Spector]

This is a spy novel I am reading for my bookclub. It just got interesting as the former KGB agent was smuggled out of USSR ....will let you know.

[Joe O'Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very Good; Russian "sleeper" is activated by CIA to commit perfect crime, as the story goes along one realizes its a famous one.

[Lysergius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has that ring of authenticity.

[David Orphal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awfully nice spy thriller by the author of The Company. Great twist at the end!

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook version

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting book, I liked the Potter but had little sympathy for any of the other characters.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great spy book. FANTASTIC characters.