Six Spies in Saranac

by Jack Heinz

It's 1964, and a body with a bullet hole in the forehead is found floating in the Raquette River, miles from the nearest town. Upstream, hidden at a titanium mine, a clandestine lab works on the design for a new fighter plane -- a plane Moscow-based CIA assets soon discover the Soviets have intel on. Was the killing connected to the stolen data? Is there a spy in the Adirondacks? That's what Air Force officer turned undercover CIA agent Joe Boudreau is sent to investigate, alongside his girlfriend, a local teacher. Then a professional assassin appears on the scene. He's English, was trained by the British for "special operations" during WWII, and is now working for the Soviets. The assassin, it turns out, does his work with a light touch and a taste for irony. Why is he there? Who was the man found in the river? Who killed him?

224 pages, Paperback

Published July 14, 2020

Reviews

[Irvin Slate]

As soon as you turn off Route 3 onto Coreys Road, the light becomes softer, cooler, greener. The road is narrow and the forest is close on both sides. A hundred yards ahead, around a bend, you have a quick view of open water , one of three small, interlocking lakes called the Stony Creek Ponds. There may be a canoe in the distance--not a motorboat or even a rowboat, a canoe. On the far shore, a trail the Iroquois used to transport furs from the interior of the Adirondacks to traders on the St. Lawrence connects the ponds to the Saranac chain of lakes. In the Adirondacks, a portage is usually called a carry. This one is known as the Indian Carry.

Thus begins a wonderful tale of spies, murder, and intrigue, set in the era of the Cold War. Joe Boudreau, the protagonist and narrator, is a thirty year old CIA operative assigned to keep track of an American who works in a titanium mine, who is a fairly insignificant low level Soviet spy, and who may (or may not) be the Soviet's source of classified info concerning development of a top secret weapon. Joe is bright but inexperienced, with the finesse of Peter Sellers in "The Pink Panther." He isn't carrying his weapon, he may have left it in Washington--not sure. While canoeing he discovers a body floating near the Stony Creek Ponds. The discovery changes Joe's assignment and the risk level considerably, and introduces a fascinating novel.

Joe has confrontations with two KGB agents, one a Brit who defected and is a sophisticated assassin of the James Bond type. The other is huge, evil, and intimidating. Both initially believe that Joe
killed the man whose body he found. Only one of them can be dissuaded from that opinion. Linda, a bright, well-educated single mom provides love interest and significant assistance to Joe in his intelligence work.

The writing is fast--paced, the story fascinating. The beautiful scenery gets just the right amount of attention. Anyone who has been there will recognize the lakes, mountains, and villages. Anyone who has not seen the area will be tempted to make a visit--and will not be disappointed by the visit nor by SIX SPIES IN SARANAC.

A special challenge: who is the sixth spy?