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Morning Spy, Evening Spy
An Afghan resistance fighter of the 1980s, once on the CIA payroll, has come back to haunt the agency. Kareem has become an enemy, a killer working closely with al-Qaeda and the Taliban, involved in drug trafficking and other crimes. He has arranged the murder of an American CIA agent in Pakistan, which may mean that an intricate, long-planned CIA operation to capture Osama bin Laden has been compromised.
CIA officer, Paul Patterson, who had run Kareem as an agent during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, sets out to track him down. Patterson navigates a shadow land of intrigue in England, Africa, the Middle East, and the U.S., where truth and lies seem to merge.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Atta and the other September 11 conspirators prepare their attack on the World Trade Center. Seeking Kareem, Patterson comes closer and closer to Atta. The climax is a stunning reversal of everything that Patterson's quest has led him to expect.
Peopled with dedicated operatives trying to protect Americans from Islamic terrorism, rival Washington bureaucrats jockeying for information and position, old CIA hands who operate by their own sets of rules, African rebels, diplomats, and assassins, this gripping and fast-paced novel, written by the author praised by The New Yorker for capturing "the le Carré manner," inspired in part by The 9/11 Report , captures the world of the CIA and the terrorists with the intensity John le Carré brought to the Cold War.
CIA officer, Paul Patterson, who had run Kareem as an agent during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, sets out to track him down. Patterson navigates a shadow land of intrigue in England, Africa, the Middle East, and the U.S., where truth and lies seem to merge.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Atta and the other September 11 conspirators prepare their attack on the World Trade Center. Seeking Kareem, Patterson comes closer and closer to Atta. The climax is a stunning reversal of everything that Patterson's quest has led him to expect.
Peopled with dedicated operatives trying to protect Americans from Islamic terrorism, rival Washington bureaucrats jockeying for information and position, old CIA hands who operate by their own sets of rules, African rebels, diplomats, and assassins, this gripping and fast-paced novel, written by the author praised by The New Yorker for capturing "the le Carré manner," inspired in part by The 9/11 Report , captures the world of the CIA and the terrorists with the intensity John le Carré brought to the Cold War.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
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72 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 4, 2015
”We often attribute some kind of abstract, context-free, almost metaphysical evil to these people, and we think we are in a religious war. That’s a mistake. Islam has a way of mixing politics and religion, raising the stakes for both, and making the war look religious when it is in fact intensely political.”
This all begins with an assassination.
Ed Powers, a shadowy contractor for the CIA, is gunned down in Pakistan.
”Then it came. At the margin of his vision, Powers glimpsed flashes of white-pink and blue, circles so rapidly expanding, so rapidly gone, leaving nothing but a void. And before he could understand what the flashes meant, he heard the angry, hammering burst of fire and felt searing pain as six 7.62mm rounds tore into his right arm, chest, and stomach. One lone, final round, catching Powers in the face as he fell, shattering his jaw and exited his right temple in an explosion of crimson mist.”
The CIA is unsure how to respond because they aren’t sure why he was killed. It could have been payback for the recent botched attempt on Osama Bin Laden or could have something more to do with a small airline company he was running that may or may not have been helping Afghanistan move drugs to Europe. Usually when one of their own go down the CIA, behind the scenes, finds out who murdered the agent and kills them. If all goes correctly those eye for an eye killings never make the news, but the world of their enemies...know.
Paul Patterson is part of NOREFUGE which is a group within the CIA mandated to find Bin Laden. He knew Ed and he has been in the CIA long enough to know when something doesn’t feel right it generally means the backstory is where the crux of the matter lies. Patterson is intent on finding out who and why because... the why... might have larger ramifications.
He is in the middle of a divorce with his wife. His girlfriend, Karen, is perfect (she is understanding of his job) and too young for him. The paranoia that comes with the job doesn’t just get put away in a box and stored when he is playing domestic. Karen is a reporter and knows lots of people...well men...that easily arouse the spectre of jealousy that plucks the strings of the insecurities that Paul already feels regarding his relationship with her.
The age difference is more of an issue with him than it is with her, but he knows instinctively that maybe not soon, but at some point it will become a problem for her.
Meanwhile as a looming presence over the whole plot of the novel, presented in a series of vignettes, Colin MacKinnon shares the movements of the 9/11 terrorists. It is frustratingly sad to relive the many moments when either the CIA or the FBI had critical information that would have kept 9/11 from happening.
As Patterson negotiates the changing politics of the CIA, the lack of interest in terrorism from the White House, his insecurities with his girlfriend, and finding the right string to tug to find out exactly why Powers was killed, he is finding the tightrope of his life to be beset by shifting winds and life threatening missteps.
This book has started showing up on many best of espionage/spy book lists. It has been compared favorably to John Le Carre though I didn’t see a lot of similarities in style. I believe they must have been referring to the obsession that both writers have with details and getting those details right. This is a procedural spy novel. MacKinnon really takes us into the nuts and bolts of being a spy. The paperwork, the discussions, the phone work all the stuff that many readers may find to be tedious. I found it authentic and fascinating. I really felt like I was a junior CIA officer tagging along with these guys learning the ropes. There are a few shootouts, but not the spectacular 150 bullets a second scenes with no one hitting anyone that is frequently depicted in Hollywood movies.
It was a difficult book to be reading right now not only because I’ve been avoiding reading books or articles that have anything to do with 9/11, that event is not history for me yet, but also because of the events that happened in France this week in the offices of Charlie Hebdo. I thought about the peaceful people of Islam, who are the majority of Muslim people, and how this act of terrorism was against them as well. The mistrust they must endure because they share a religion, but not a fanaticism with a few misguided madmen.
Acts of terror inspire fear. Fear inspires acts of terror.
This all begins with an assassination.
Ed Powers, a shadowy contractor for the CIA, is gunned down in Pakistan.
”Then it came. At the margin of his vision, Powers glimpsed flashes of white-pink and blue, circles so rapidly expanding, so rapidly gone, leaving nothing but a void. And before he could understand what the flashes meant, he heard the angry, hammering burst of fire and felt searing pain as six 7.62mm rounds tore into his right arm, chest, and stomach. One lone, final round, catching Powers in the face as he fell, shattering his jaw and exited his right temple in an explosion of crimson mist.”
The CIA is unsure how to respond because they aren’t sure why he was killed. It could have been payback for the recent botched attempt on Osama Bin Laden or could have something more to do with a small airline company he was running that may or may not have been helping Afghanistan move drugs to Europe. Usually when one of their own go down the CIA, behind the scenes, finds out who murdered the agent and kills them. If all goes correctly those eye for an eye killings never make the news, but the world of their enemies...know.
Paul Patterson is part of NOREFUGE which is a group within the CIA mandated to find Bin Laden. He knew Ed and he has been in the CIA long enough to know when something doesn’t feel right it generally means the backstory is where the crux of the matter lies. Patterson is intent on finding out who and why because... the why... might have larger ramifications.
He is in the middle of a divorce with his wife. His girlfriend, Karen, is perfect (she is understanding of his job) and too young for him. The paranoia that comes with the job doesn’t just get put away in a box and stored when he is playing domestic. Karen is a reporter and knows lots of people...well men...that easily arouse the spectre of jealousy that plucks the strings of the insecurities that Paul already feels regarding his relationship with her.
The age difference is more of an issue with him than it is with her, but he knows instinctively that maybe not soon, but at some point it will become a problem for her.
Meanwhile as a looming presence over the whole plot of the novel, presented in a series of vignettes, Colin MacKinnon shares the movements of the 9/11 terrorists. It is frustratingly sad to relive the many moments when either the CIA or the FBI had critical information that would have kept 9/11 from happening.
As Patterson negotiates the changing politics of the CIA, the lack of interest in terrorism from the White House, his insecurities with his girlfriend, and finding the right string to tug to find out exactly why Powers was killed, he is finding the tightrope of his life to be beset by shifting winds and life threatening missteps.
This book has started showing up on many best of espionage/spy book lists. It has been compared favorably to John Le Carre though I didn’t see a lot of similarities in style. I believe they must have been referring to the obsession that both writers have with details and getting those details right. This is a procedural spy novel. MacKinnon really takes us into the nuts and bolts of being a spy. The paperwork, the discussions, the phone work all the stuff that many readers may find to be tedious. I found it authentic and fascinating. I really felt like I was a junior CIA officer tagging along with these guys learning the ropes. There are a few shootouts, but not the spectacular 150 bullets a second scenes with no one hitting anyone that is frequently depicted in Hollywood movies.
It was a difficult book to be reading right now not only because I’ve been avoiding reading books or articles that have anything to do with 9/11, that event is not history for me yet, but also because of the events that happened in France this week in the offices of Charlie Hebdo. I thought about the peaceful people of Islam, who are the majority of Muslim people, and how this act of terrorism was against them as well. The mistrust they must endure because they share a religion, but not a fanaticism with a few misguided madmen.
Acts of terror inspire fear. Fear inspires acts of terror.
October 30, 2024
This novel gave me insight into how the CIA operates and I found that interesting. The dialogue was snappy and I like that. He introduced numerous characters and it was difficult to track the multitude. I also liked his sub-plot on the Arab terrorists and how they infiltrated the U.S. plus the efforts to investigate them. Quite enlightening.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 15, 2008
Listening to. Really have to pay attention because there are a lot of dates and people and spy stuff. - very detailed spy stuff. Interspersed with details from pre 9/11 which adds an interesting context. Took forever to get through because I truly had a hard time keeping track of all the names and dates. The ending is open to interpretation and I'm choosing to pick the less horrific one.
June 21, 2013
Listening to. Mediocre. Actor reading this sounds exactly like the husband in the ketchup skit on a Prairie Home Companion. Hard to take seriously when I keep expecting to hear some one sing "these are the good years...ketchuuuuuup"
This book is good when we follow the job - personal life is predictable, uninteresting, hackneyed sexism.
This book is good when we follow the job - personal life is predictable, uninteresting, hackneyed sexism.
March 21, 2025
In the months leading up to 9/11, an agent is killed in a targeted shooting. The story is about tracking down his killer. The main character, Paul Patterson, is a middle-aged agent in the CIA. He is tracking down the killer in a methodical, research-oriented process. There is very little action in the story, it is more about the CIA and how it operates. As you meet each character, you get a dossier on him. There were too many for me to remember.
The book wasn't able to make me care much for the murder victim, nor the main character. It wasn't bad, but I wanted more.
The book wasn't able to make me care much for the murder victim, nor the main character. It wasn't bad, but I wanted more.
September 30, 2018
This is a terrible book. The characters are bland and uninteresting and so is the plot line. This is one of those books that tries to be so realistic that it's actually pretty mundane. Most of the book takes place in meetings or private conversations, with precious little action for a spy novel. The ending is incredibly unsatisfying. This is one I wish I gave up before finishing.
May 10, 2022
Colin MacKinnon has written an outstanding book filled with authentic trade-craft from the Intelligence Community. I could not put this book down !
Semper Fi,
Dr Robert Zerby
Falls Church, Virginia
zerby1948@gmail.com
Semper Fi,
Dr Robert Zerby
Falls Church, Virginia
zerby1948@gmail.com
July 15, 2017
It was pretty psychological. I think it could be for teens 17+ ?
February 24, 2023
2.5⭐️
I feel like this is just a collection of daily briefings held together with small bits of dialogue.
I feel like this is just a collection of daily briefings held together with small bits of dialogue.
April 27, 2025
2.75 ⭐️ Could’ve aged better.
Feels like reading a cosplayer’s playbook.
📖 Reading books my mom is getting rid of, pt. 1
Feels like reading a cosplayer’s playbook.
📖 Reading books my mom is getting rid of, pt. 1
February 28, 2013
This is a good book--but not for reasons some people might be drawn to it. The way this book is marketed on its cover is that it is a "thriller" involving the CIA. A blurb quoted over the title describes it that way, and the cover art is of a man who looks like a young William Hurt running from a sinister-lighted White House.
That does not accurately portray this novel at all, and anyone lured into reading it carrying the "thriller" impression is bound to be sorely disappointed. This is not a CIA thriller, but a CIA procedural. The "hero" is a middle-aged operative who, though he was once a field agent, is now basically a desk jockey. The challenge he faces is sifting through clues and seeking to solve a mystery behind the assassination of a renegade former agent they had been carrying on contract, all in the months leading up the September 11 al-Queda attacks. In the meantime, as al-Queda is covertly moving ahead with its conspiracy, and our hero's got a mystery to solve, he must also deal with politicians, intra-agency rivalries, and personal issues involving a divorce and a girlfriend.
In short, this book is less Jason Bourne and more Zero Dark Thirty.
And I liked it for that reason. No fanciful derring-do here--just a good imaginative reading as to how the CIA in all likelihood really works. The mystery is satisfying, with an ending that carries a wallop.
That does not accurately portray this novel at all, and anyone lured into reading it carrying the "thriller" impression is bound to be sorely disappointed. This is not a CIA thriller, but a CIA procedural. The "hero" is a middle-aged operative who, though he was once a field agent, is now basically a desk jockey. The challenge he faces is sifting through clues and seeking to solve a mystery behind the assassination of a renegade former agent they had been carrying on contract, all in the months leading up the September 11 al-Queda attacks. In the meantime, as al-Queda is covertly moving ahead with its conspiracy, and our hero's got a mystery to solve, he must also deal with politicians, intra-agency rivalries, and personal issues involving a divorce and a girlfriend.
In short, this book is less Jason Bourne and more Zero Dark Thirty.
And I liked it for that reason. No fanciful derring-do here--just a good imaginative reading as to how the CIA in all likelihood really works. The mystery is satisfying, with an ending that carries a wallop.
July 8, 2015
VERY GOOD
Morning Spy, Evening Spy is the first novel I've read by this author and it is a very good one. A blend of fact and fiction, the book is a low key but very engaging espionage tale with an intelligence community insider's perspective on the events leading up to the 9/11 attacks. Our protagonist, Paul Patterson, is a senior CIA agent and agency trouble-shooter. He is tasked with solving the murder of a shady CIA "contractor" in Pakistan. During his investigation, Patterson soon realizes the murder is just one piece of a very deadly puzzle which includes Bin Laden, Al Qaeda and an imminent terrorist attack. The reader follows Patterson as he travels the globe and unravels the mystery; all the while attempting to make sense of what his "own people" are telling him and what they've really been doing.
If you like your thrillers more cerebral, i.e. LeCarre or Lawton, than adrenaline driven Morning Spy, Evening Spy fits the bill. The book also presents a very plausible and troubling narrative - albeit "fictional" - about the workings and structural defects of our national intelligence community - This without getting up on a soapbox or finger-pointing.
A very good, engaging and thought provoking book - which subtly asks the question, "Have we fixed our intelligence system?"
Morning Spy, Evening Spy is the first novel I've read by this author and it is a very good one. A blend of fact and fiction, the book is a low key but very engaging espionage tale with an intelligence community insider's perspective on the events leading up to the 9/11 attacks. Our protagonist, Paul Patterson, is a senior CIA agent and agency trouble-shooter. He is tasked with solving the murder of a shady CIA "contractor" in Pakistan. During his investigation, Patterson soon realizes the murder is just one piece of a very deadly puzzle which includes Bin Laden, Al Qaeda and an imminent terrorist attack. The reader follows Patterson as he travels the globe and unravels the mystery; all the while attempting to make sense of what his "own people" are telling him and what they've really been doing.
If you like your thrillers more cerebral, i.e. LeCarre or Lawton, than adrenaline driven Morning Spy, Evening Spy fits the bill. The book also presents a very plausible and troubling narrative - albeit "fictional" - about the workings and structural defects of our national intelligence community - This without getting up on a soapbox or finger-pointing.
A very good, engaging and thought provoking book - which subtly asks the question, "Have we fixed our intelligence system?"
March 27, 2022
Maybe this book gets better later on – but I’ll never know, because I’m bailing. I listened to 3 out of 9 CDs, and other than an American agent being murdered in the opening pages, literally nothing else happens in at least the next 20 chapters! A lot of talking – a LOT of talking – but absolutely no action, and so I’m cutting my losses and moving on.
One other criticism particular to the audiobook – I found the narrator’s voices for supporting characters very annoying – almost cartoonish. His overall narration was fine, but every time he switched to a female character, or bad guy, or one of the main character’s coworkers it was just painful.
One other criticism particular to the audiobook – I found the narrator’s voices for supporting characters very annoying – almost cartoonish. His overall narration was fine, but every time he switched to a female character, or bad guy, or one of the main character’s coworkers it was just painful.
January 5, 2013
Well, despite many other reviews, I very much enjoyed this novel. I liked the main characters, especially Paul Patterson and Bill Cleppinger, even though they had their flaws. The collection of intelligence was fascinating. Also, the looming 9/11 attacks color all the events. Yes, there are a lot of characters coming and going, including the 19 terrorists entering the U.S. and taking flight training.
March 23, 2013
A good fast vacation read that centers on the politics between the agencies (FBI, CIA, NSA) around a murder investigation in Afghanistan, immediately preceding the World Trade Center attacks. The ultimate plot isn't breathtaking but the weaving in of actual facts and reports of the build up to 9/11 keeps it humming right along.
May 8, 2015
Enjoyed this one. I would disagree that this is any sort of thriller, as it was characterized in some reviews or maybe the publisher's blurb. It's more of a "CIA procedural". Somewhat slow paced, but seemingly more realistic than most shoot 'em up spy novels.
June 12, 2007
Carefully constructed and unsensationally rendered, the book nonetheless lacks any apparent point.
May 2, 2008
Tries to incorporate actual events related to 9/11 into an uncreative work of fiction.
February 16, 2009
I couldn't get into this one. I didn't even finish it!
May 30, 2009
This was an odd book - not my usualy enjoyment level for a spy novel. Written like a log or diary type entries. I found my mind wandering, and uninterested.
May 18, 2012
To be written later on.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews