Devil's Brew

by Keith M. Spence

Keith Spence's powerful debut novel concerns David Jourbet, a penetration agent for the CIA with a very big he's just gunned down the Agency's chief of counterintelligence in cold blood. Fort Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary awaits. A life sentence for murder. Then he's offered a way out. A simple deal, really. Help the Agency locate a missing operative and all charges will be dropped. Just like that. Except this isn't just any agent who's gone missing. It's Marlena Cory, David's lifelong love, a woman he jilted at the altar two years earlier. Before the mystery of Marlena's disappearance can be solved, David must return to the scene of some of some of his most traumatic childhood memories, battling demons both past and present, real and imagined. And through it all, he will find himself plunging deeper and deeper into a spiritual and emotional Hell that makes a lifetime at Leavenworth seem like an inviting alternative.

280 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2001

About the author

Keith M. Spence is a business owner, freelance writer, and former legal investigator who brings an unusual blend of real-world grit to his mystery and thriller fiction. An English-Writing major turned auto repair shop owner, Keith draws on his investigative background and mechanical problem-solving skills to craft tightly plotted narratives that keep readers guessing. His critically acclaimed novel Devil's Brew earned praise from The Midwest Book Review as "a compelling spy story that turns leisure reading into pure excitement!" Inspired by the works of Alistair MacLean and Adam Hall, Keith writes because he loves it, even when his own characters refuse to cooperate. He lives in eastern North Carolina with his family, his cat Callie, and an ever-growing stack of books beside his favorite chair.