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Ya'ara Stein #2
צוערים
לאחר שיערה שטיין מודחת מתפקידה במוסד, היא מגויסת מחדש על ידי ראש הממשלה. שטיין, שכבר יצאו לה מוניטין של אישיות לא צפויה, נקראת להקים יחידת צוערים חשאית שתפעל לפי חוקים משלה ותיענה רק לפקודותיו של ראש הממשלה. מבחינת הממסד, יחידה שבראשה מפקדת פרועה ושוברת מוסכמות היא לא פחות מאשר דגל אדום. ששת צוערי היחידה, גברים ונשים צעירים ומבריקים, דולקים בעקבות צאצאיהם של כנופיית בּאדֶר–מַיינהוֹף שחוזרים להלך אימים על אירופה.
לא רק רוחות העבר משחקות כאן תפקיד אלא גם איומים חדשים ואקטואליים. התראות חמות הקשורות באסלאם הקיצוני מעוררות אותם לפעולה, והצוערים מוכרחים להבדיל בין עובדות למסכי עשן, לפעול בלי גיבוי - ולנַצח. אבל הם עתידים לגלות שבמשימה הזאת, לא פעם הצייד הופך לניצוד. בצוערים יונתן דה שליט חוזר לרבים מגיבורי רב–המכר הבלתי נשכח בוגד, ומפגיש את הקוראים עם עלילות מצטלבות ודמויות חדשות ומרתקות במציאות דליקה. זהו רומן מתח מסחרר ומורכב, אשר מטיל אור על עולם הסתרים שמתקיים בסמוך לזה המוכר לנו.
לא רק רוחות העבר משחקות כאן תפקיד אלא גם איומים חדשים ואקטואליים. התראות חמות הקשורות באסלאם הקיצוני מעוררות אותם לפעולה, והצוערים מוכרחים להבדיל בין עובדות למסכי עשן, לפעול בלי גיבוי - ולנַצח. אבל הם עתידים לגלות שבמשימה הזאת, לא פעם הצייד הופך לניצוד. בצוערים יונתן דה שליט חוזר לרבים מגיבורי רב–המכר הבלתי נשכח בוגד, ומפגיש את הקוראים עם עלילות מצטלבות ודמויות חדשות ומרתקות במציאות דליקה. זהו רומן מתח מסחרר ומורכב, אשר מטיל אור על עולם הסתרים שמתקיים בסמוך לזה המוכר לנו.
351 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2017
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February 1, 2025
לסקירה מפורטת בעברית, קישור לבלוג שלי -
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August 28, 2018
A Spy in Exile by Jonathan de Shalit
“After Ya’ara Stein is forced out of her job at the Mossad—the secret intelligence service of Israel—she is called upon by the Prime Minister for a classified job. Known for her aptitude, beauty, and deadliness, Stein is asked to set up a secret unit that will act independently, answerable only to the Prime Minister.”
First let me say that espionage or spy thrillers is a genre that I have just recently become acquainted with. So as I am probably not as familiar with the actual stories themselves I have enjoyed reading the few that I have such as Safe Houses by Dan Fesperman. Shalit writes in a manner that allows the reader to become part of the story. In a sense that you ar so engulfed in the tension that goes on between the characters. I love the fact that this is a fast paced novel and it encompasses true events along with fictional ones in the timeline that was created. The writer has a background in the Israeli intelligence department and is familiar with the ins and outs of the business so therefore his stories can become more complex with the reader knowing that this is most likely something that has or could have happened. There ar a few things that did not make sense to me but I am sure that has nothing to do with the author but rather myself the reader. Maybe a little more explanation on a few of the team members that the protagonist chose as new members to Form a.secret squad.
This is an exceptional storyline that will keep you on the edge of your seat well into the night trying to figure out what is going to happen next. I cannot wait to read more by this author and hopefully it will be a sequel to this one. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves thrillers and spy novels.
Thank you to netgalley as well as the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
“After Ya’ara Stein is forced out of her job at the Mossad—the secret intelligence service of Israel—she is called upon by the Prime Minister for a classified job. Known for her aptitude, beauty, and deadliness, Stein is asked to set up a secret unit that will act independently, answerable only to the Prime Minister.”
First let me say that espionage or spy thrillers is a genre that I have just recently become acquainted with. So as I am probably not as familiar with the actual stories themselves I have enjoyed reading the few that I have such as Safe Houses by Dan Fesperman. Shalit writes in a manner that allows the reader to become part of the story. In a sense that you ar so engulfed in the tension that goes on between the characters. I love the fact that this is a fast paced novel and it encompasses true events along with fictional ones in the timeline that was created. The writer has a background in the Israeli intelligence department and is familiar with the ins and outs of the business so therefore his stories can become more complex with the reader knowing that this is most likely something that has or could have happened. There ar a few things that did not make sense to me but I am sure that has nothing to do with the author but rather myself the reader. Maybe a little more explanation on a few of the team members that the protagonist chose as new members to Form a.secret squad.
This is an exceptional storyline that will keep you on the edge of your seat well into the night trying to figure out what is going to happen next. I cannot wait to read more by this author and hopefully it will be a sequel to this one. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves thrillers and spy novels.
Thank you to netgalley as well as the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
August 8, 2023
Ya’ara Stein is back in A Spy in Exile, the second book by Jonathan de Shalit. This book deals with a lot of the problems that can rise when you work deep undercover for your state with eliminating enemies of your country. I found this book better than the first and hope sincerely that there will be a third coming soon. It's great reading a book that is not about american special forces or secret agents.
May 4, 2019
Jonathan de Shalit’s “A Spy in Exile” is not going to be one of my favorite spy novels of this year. I had problems with the title. I had problems with the story. I had problems with the introspection and retrospection.
Starting with the title, it’s a bit of a misnomer. Although there is some spying, the novel is essentially about special agents of Israel, who are tasked with taking out Israeli’s enemies- that is killing them. Assassination, wet work and counter intelligence. Spying is generally considered government sanctioned watching and recruiting of people for the purpose of ferreting out information that may be harmful to the country the spies work for. There is another group of special forces that work for countries as well. Seal Team 6, Delta Force and other counter- terrorist forces of the USA are tasked with fighting external threats. But they are uniformed soldiers. Not a hit squad who operates in the shadows.
Which brings me to the latest book by Jonathan de Shalit, the misnamed “A Spy in Exile”. De Shalit, a former Mossad agent writing under a pen name, latest novel is about Ya’ara Stein and her assassin squad. Clearly, the title could be better, but, its likely calling the heroes assassins or a hit squad would be problematic. So I am sure that is why it’s called “A Spy in Exile”.
The novel has two main operations set in the near present involving Stein’s hit squad. But de Shalit, also has tied Stein’s story to another story set in the past, which naturally links up to Stein’s story plotline in the last part of the novel. The past thread in the story is about Yosef Raphael, a sculpture in post-World War II London, who has been recruited by Israeli intelligence to help the nascent state against its enemies. It’s a winding thread of a story episodically interspersed during the main novel parts. The tie-in does make for an interesting digression and casts some of Stein’s actions in a more positive light at the end of the novel.
Stein, who has been kicked out of Mossad for taking vengeance into her hands in a prior book, is asked by the Prime Minister of Israel, to recruit a hit squad of special agents, who will go after Israel’s enemies and take them out. The squad will be “off the books” only beholden to the Prime Minister. Israel will show that it is a force that punishes its enemies. De Shalit does a good job of fleshing out his characters. There is Ann and Helene’s romantic relationship, Sayid, the Arabic Jew, who is trying prove himself and Nufar, the daughter of a criminal, who became a hacker for Israel cyber forces and now is looking for more. The members of Stein’s squad are a diverse group, who have real feelings and thoughts. De Shalit clearly captures these feelings. But all of this fleshing sometimes turns too much to introspection and a psychological deep dive into the characters. It’s a little bit of a slog to get through all of this introspection and feelings. Interspersed in the novel are two or three instances of ruthless violence. But it’s not enough to sustain the idea that this is a “thriller”. It’s a slow read at best.
After learning about the members of the squad, Stein takes them to Germany to train. While training, Stein is approached by an old colleague, Matthias Geller, who is the head of BND’s Hamburg Station. Geller has lost a lady love, who entered his life, lived with him briefly and then disappeared. Stein understands that this woman could be a problem. If she was a spy, Geller’s career could be in jeopardy. So she starts to look into the woman and her squad investigates her background. Using Israeli assets and other tools, Stein and her team discover that the woman has a familial relationship to a famous terrorist group that operated in Europe in the past. They also discover that she may have been recruited by Russian operatives, who are planning to use old terrorist’s family members to commit bombings and other atrocities in Europe. Russia wants to show the West that it too can act with impunity but not be tied to the acts. Stein’s group ends up thwarting the woman’s individual group’s plan for an attack, but not before Stein takes extreme actions and torture against her to thwart the plan and to protect Matthias. It is cold blooded but that is why Stein, who was chosen exactly because of her ruthlessness, was recruited by the Prime Minister.
In the second operation, Stein’s group is given what appears to be two kill orders against enemies of the Israeli state. Although it’s not completely clear whether there was one kill order and one operation just decided on by Stein because the target hurt her family. One of the targets is a convicted felon already in custody in Europe. The other is an Iman, who has spread hate and discord. Stein plans two operations to take them out. In one of the operations, a young child in Britain will be killed, and although Aslan and other members of the squad are troubled by the inadvertent death, Stein feel this “collateral damage” is warranted. War is messy. But you do not expect your allies to kill innocents. You will have to make up your own mind about whether this is an acceptable outcome.
The British are not happy with the operations or deaths of their citizens on their home turf and will go hard to find the culprits. Meanwhile Mossad will also investigate the operations, as the outcome against the Iman took out a valuable British double agent. So the last part of the novel will be Israel’s investigation of Stein and the tie-in with Raphael in the past.
The novel was a bit of a slow read. Not that thrilling. Too much introspection for my taste. While the writer surely knows the trials and tribulations of the special agents that make up the spy organizations of the world, it was not that enjoyable to read about it. Stein displays an inherent ruthlessness that stands in marked contrast to the more introspective members of her squad. In some ways the novel punctures the belief that Israel acts heroically. De Shalit makes the point that some innocents’ deaths are acceptable in order to keep Israel safe from its enemies It’s a hard lesson, that de Shalit tries to lessen with the final actions of Stein, who acts to keep Raphael’s last secret safe.
Starting with the title, it’s a bit of a misnomer. Although there is some spying, the novel is essentially about special agents of Israel, who are tasked with taking out Israeli’s enemies- that is killing them. Assassination, wet work and counter intelligence. Spying is generally considered government sanctioned watching and recruiting of people for the purpose of ferreting out information that may be harmful to the country the spies work for. There is another group of special forces that work for countries as well. Seal Team 6, Delta Force and other counter- terrorist forces of the USA are tasked with fighting external threats. But they are uniformed soldiers. Not a hit squad who operates in the shadows.
Which brings me to the latest book by Jonathan de Shalit, the misnamed “A Spy in Exile”. De Shalit, a former Mossad agent writing under a pen name, latest novel is about Ya’ara Stein and her assassin squad. Clearly, the title could be better, but, its likely calling the heroes assassins or a hit squad would be problematic. So I am sure that is why it’s called “A Spy in Exile”.
The novel has two main operations set in the near present involving Stein’s hit squad. But de Shalit, also has tied Stein’s story to another story set in the past, which naturally links up to Stein’s story plotline in the last part of the novel. The past thread in the story is about Yosef Raphael, a sculpture in post-World War II London, who has been recruited by Israeli intelligence to help the nascent state against its enemies. It’s a winding thread of a story episodically interspersed during the main novel parts. The tie-in does make for an interesting digression and casts some of Stein’s actions in a more positive light at the end of the novel.
Stein, who has been kicked out of Mossad for taking vengeance into her hands in a prior book, is asked by the Prime Minister of Israel, to recruit a hit squad of special agents, who will go after Israel’s enemies and take them out. The squad will be “off the books” only beholden to the Prime Minister. Israel will show that it is a force that punishes its enemies. De Shalit does a good job of fleshing out his characters. There is Ann and Helene’s romantic relationship, Sayid, the Arabic Jew, who is trying prove himself and Nufar, the daughter of a criminal, who became a hacker for Israel cyber forces and now is looking for more. The members of Stein’s squad are a diverse group, who have real feelings and thoughts. De Shalit clearly captures these feelings. But all of this fleshing sometimes turns too much to introspection and a psychological deep dive into the characters. It’s a little bit of a slog to get through all of this introspection and feelings. Interspersed in the novel are two or three instances of ruthless violence. But it’s not enough to sustain the idea that this is a “thriller”. It’s a slow read at best.
After learning about the members of the squad, Stein takes them to Germany to train. While training, Stein is approached by an old colleague, Matthias Geller, who is the head of BND’s Hamburg Station. Geller has lost a lady love, who entered his life, lived with him briefly and then disappeared. Stein understands that this woman could be a problem. If she was a spy, Geller’s career could be in jeopardy. So she starts to look into the woman and her squad investigates her background. Using Israeli assets and other tools, Stein and her team discover that the woman has a familial relationship to a famous terrorist group that operated in Europe in the past. They also discover that she may have been recruited by Russian operatives, who are planning to use old terrorist’s family members to commit bombings and other atrocities in Europe. Russia wants to show the West that it too can act with impunity but not be tied to the acts. Stein’s group ends up thwarting the woman’s individual group’s plan for an attack, but not before Stein takes extreme actions and torture against her to thwart the plan and to protect Matthias. It is cold blooded but that is why Stein, who was chosen exactly because of her ruthlessness, was recruited by the Prime Minister.
In the second operation, Stein’s group is given what appears to be two kill orders against enemies of the Israeli state. Although it’s not completely clear whether there was one kill order and one operation just decided on by Stein because the target hurt her family. One of the targets is a convicted felon already in custody in Europe. The other is an Iman, who has spread hate and discord. Stein plans two operations to take them out. In one of the operations, a young child in Britain will be killed, and although Aslan and other members of the squad are troubled by the inadvertent death, Stein feel this “collateral damage” is warranted. War is messy. But you do not expect your allies to kill innocents. You will have to make up your own mind about whether this is an acceptable outcome.
The British are not happy with the operations or deaths of their citizens on their home turf and will go hard to find the culprits. Meanwhile Mossad will also investigate the operations, as the outcome against the Iman took out a valuable British double agent. So the last part of the novel will be Israel’s investigation of Stein and the tie-in with Raphael in the past.
The novel was a bit of a slow read. Not that thrilling. Too much introspection for my taste. While the writer surely knows the trials and tribulations of the special agents that make up the spy organizations of the world, it was not that enjoyable to read about it. Stein displays an inherent ruthlessness that stands in marked contrast to the more introspective members of her squad. In some ways the novel punctures the belief that Israel acts heroically. De Shalit makes the point that some innocents’ deaths are acceptable in order to keep Israel safe from its enemies It’s a hard lesson, that de Shalit tries to lessen with the final actions of Stein, who acts to keep Raphael’s last secret safe.
February 6, 2019
A Spy in Exile is Ya’ra Stein. About a year ago Ya’ra, while working for Mossad was involved in an operation which flushed out one of Israel’s most dangerous traitors. This traitor was quickly identified, and she was ordered to stand down. The traitor, Alon Regev, an aide to Israel’s then Prime Minister, someone with access to state secrets at the highest level got wind of Ya’ra and her team on his tail and decided to run, attempting a rendezvous with Russian Intelligence. Ya’ra being a field operative decided quickly and decisively that she must put an end to him before they lose that opportunity for good. And Mr. Regev had an “accident.” While praised by many for making the right decision, Mossad ultimately cast her out, calling her “aggressive, undisciplined, unpredictable, and too prone to violence.”
As I mentioned, many in the intelligence community felt Ya’ra made the right decision on that operation and Israel’s new Prime Minister is one of them. Telling Ya’ra had “that been his aide, he would have killed him himself“. He Approaches Ya’ra and recruits her to be his “black horse.” Explaining to her that he believes the country needs their white horses as well, the ones that use reason, and the appropriate measures of law and order. But he wants her to be wild, aggressive, and subversive. To create a small unit, he believes has eroded Israel in recent years. A type of unit that can operate in absolute secrecy, completely detached from Israel that can act swiftly, aggressively, free of restraints those “white horse” warriors are bind to. And ultimately, a type of unit he and the state of Israel can deny if ever necessary.
Her marching orders received and agreeing to do what is necessary, Ya’ra sets out to recruit a new team. She starts with Aslan, someone she refers to as a “brother in arms.” A capable operative she has worked with in the past. Aslan is also an extreme sports enthusiast, devoting much of his time to mountain climbing, rafting, skydiving to name a few. She then carefully crafts an ad, posting on two internet message boards and one on a social media network. From there, the interview and selection process happen “off screen” as they say in movies and a small group materializes. When reading, I often picture the scene unfolding as if it was a movie. With this one, what came to mind was Ocean’s Eleven, the scene when all the recruits showed up and they were briefed by Danny, George Clooney’s character on what they were getting themselves into with the heist. These recruits however were pretty much all normal people. With the exception of one, none had a military background or any intelligence service of any type on their resume. To call them Green would be an understatement.
With the team assembled, Ya’ra and Aslan set a training schedule in motion to prepare the recruits for their new role. However, someone in Ya’ras’ past comes asking for her help in what he believes is a personal issue. A girlfriend who just up and left him, no explanation and no warning. Her friend, Matthias was distraught but as the head of the Hamburg Station of the German Intelligence Service, he wanted his friend Ya’ra to ensure nothing sinister was happening. She ultimately decides her new recruits would benefit from some “on the job training” and she agrees to help. Investigating and gathering intel, the new unit quickly uncovers a plot to kill some of Germany’s most renowned bankers. After that, they set out on their actual mission, to eliminate targets they receive from the Prime Minister. On this mission, the small team decides to split in two and conduct two simultaneous hits. While ultimately successful, the teams do encounter issues, majority of the human error type which leaves many doubts as to their future and willingness to participate in this unit. As I mentioned, these people were normal, with feelings and emotions, not past operators or killers. Throughout the book, we get to know each member and their reason for being there. But once the actual killing starts, and human error comes into play, in the form of ‘collateral damage’ some within the team question their drive to continue with the team.
While A Spy in Exile is very much different from other spy novels, it does raise the question; how things are really done? Considering that Jonathan de Shalit is a pseudonym for the author, due to the fact that he’s a former high-ranking member of Mossad, and in some circles, I’ve heard rumors he may still be an active member of Mossad. Which again raises the question in my head, how are things really done in the spy business? Is Jonathan de Shalit just another creative author or is he writing from real world experience? While a trained operative, like Jack Reacher or Jason Bourne for example are an easy sell, do real spy agencies recruit normal people in an effort to travel abroad easily then conduct an operation and disappear just as quickly. It’s hard to imagine, but who am I do argue with a real-world spy. I highly recommend A Spy in Exile and not only because I’m afraid of the author and what his capabilities are, but in all seriousness, it is a fantastic read. I look forward to future spy novels from Jonathan with this new and now highly trained secret kill unit.
As I mentioned, many in the intelligence community felt Ya’ra made the right decision on that operation and Israel’s new Prime Minister is one of them. Telling Ya’ra had “that been his aide, he would have killed him himself“. He Approaches Ya’ra and recruits her to be his “black horse.” Explaining to her that he believes the country needs their white horses as well, the ones that use reason, and the appropriate measures of law and order. But he wants her to be wild, aggressive, and subversive. To create a small unit, he believes has eroded Israel in recent years. A type of unit that can operate in absolute secrecy, completely detached from Israel that can act swiftly, aggressively, free of restraints those “white horse” warriors are bind to. And ultimately, a type of unit he and the state of Israel can deny if ever necessary.
Her marching orders received and agreeing to do what is necessary, Ya’ra sets out to recruit a new team. She starts with Aslan, someone she refers to as a “brother in arms.” A capable operative she has worked with in the past. Aslan is also an extreme sports enthusiast, devoting much of his time to mountain climbing, rafting, skydiving to name a few. She then carefully crafts an ad, posting on two internet message boards and one on a social media network. From there, the interview and selection process happen “off screen” as they say in movies and a small group materializes. When reading, I often picture the scene unfolding as if it was a movie. With this one, what came to mind was Ocean’s Eleven, the scene when all the recruits showed up and they were briefed by Danny, George Clooney’s character on what they were getting themselves into with the heist. These recruits however were pretty much all normal people. With the exception of one, none had a military background or any intelligence service of any type on their resume. To call them Green would be an understatement.
With the team assembled, Ya’ra and Aslan set a training schedule in motion to prepare the recruits for their new role. However, someone in Ya’ras’ past comes asking for her help in what he believes is a personal issue. A girlfriend who just up and left him, no explanation and no warning. Her friend, Matthias was distraught but as the head of the Hamburg Station of the German Intelligence Service, he wanted his friend Ya’ra to ensure nothing sinister was happening. She ultimately decides her new recruits would benefit from some “on the job training” and she agrees to help. Investigating and gathering intel, the new unit quickly uncovers a plot to kill some of Germany’s most renowned bankers. After that, they set out on their actual mission, to eliminate targets they receive from the Prime Minister. On this mission, the small team decides to split in two and conduct two simultaneous hits. While ultimately successful, the teams do encounter issues, majority of the human error type which leaves many doubts as to their future and willingness to participate in this unit. As I mentioned, these people were normal, with feelings and emotions, not past operators or killers. Throughout the book, we get to know each member and their reason for being there. But once the actual killing starts, and human error comes into play, in the form of ‘collateral damage’ some within the team question their drive to continue with the team.
While A Spy in Exile is very much different from other spy novels, it does raise the question; how things are really done? Considering that Jonathan de Shalit is a pseudonym for the author, due to the fact that he’s a former high-ranking member of Mossad, and in some circles, I’ve heard rumors he may still be an active member of Mossad. Which again raises the question in my head, how are things really done in the spy business? Is Jonathan de Shalit just another creative author or is he writing from real world experience? While a trained operative, like Jack Reacher or Jason Bourne for example are an easy sell, do real spy agencies recruit normal people in an effort to travel abroad easily then conduct an operation and disappear just as quickly. It’s hard to imagine, but who am I do argue with a real-world spy. I highly recommend A Spy in Exile and not only because I’m afraid of the author and what his capabilities are, but in all seriousness, it is a fantastic read. I look forward to future spy novels from Jonathan with this new and now highly trained secret kill unit.
January 16, 2019
A Spy in Exile by Jonathan de Shalit- A modern-day spy novel with frequent journeys into the past. Literary in style, but not Le Carre' or Kanon. Closer to Lawton or Goddard. A cashiered ex-Mossad agent is tasked with putting together an illegal strike team to do what the by-the-book agencies can't do. Actually sounds better than it reads. I found it too slow to get going and rather clumsy at times. Some chapters were very well done, while others were lost in pointless speculation. Too much telling and not enough showing to build the characters. Descriptive passages were very well done and the narrative flows well when its not bogged down in unnecessary back-story or obvious dialogue. I wouldn't recommend it, but it's not terrible, just not up to standard
October 22, 2018
A spy thriller with the formerly disgraced spy, Yaara Stein being brought back into the world of espionage by the Prime Minister to set up, plan and conduct missions on her own without the support of the Israeli Mossad. A black group goes on to commit several acts that upon further review appear poorly thought out at best. The book begins with Yaara selecting a group of cadets to mold into her own image and then begin conducting missions serve the goals of Israel. A very in depth book that goes beyond the fighting into the minutiae of everyday life as a spy. A well written book.
June 11, 2022
A spy novel unlike any I've previously read. The text deals with the feelings and emotions of the characters in the situations they find themselves in. The plot elements seem to come from outside the characters and appear in unlikely and round-about ways, the way such things must appear to spies I suspect. Nothing ever develops along expected lines and the story constantly surprises the reader with odd twists and turns, yet seems inevitable when it's over. Oddly, it's also a story about art. A fresh and original read. - BH.
December 28, 2019
When you walk into a bookstore where they know you and recommend a book for you, this is the result of one of those visits.
This book was gripping in a whole different way.
It reminded me of two other books, both of which I’d highly recommend: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes and The Informationist by Taylor Steven.
All are well written thrillers that keep you engaged and you cannot help but turn the next page because what if you don’t, what will you miss?
Another thing these books share in common are strong, complex protagonists who make such difficult and ugly choices, but whom you can sympathize with when made those choices.
Thanks to Theresa at Diane’s Books in Greenwich CT for recommending that I read this.
This book was gripping in a whole different way.
It reminded me of two other books, both of which I’d highly recommend: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes and The Informationist by Taylor Steven.
All are well written thrillers that keep you engaged and you cannot help but turn the next page because what if you don’t, what will you miss?
Another thing these books share in common are strong, complex protagonists who make such difficult and ugly choices, but whom you can sympathize with when made those choices.
Thanks to Theresa at Diane’s Books in Greenwich CT for recommending that I read this.
May 20, 2019
Some interesting espionage details about training procedures and authentic settings. Not sufficient emotional involvement with protagonist nor reason for many of the fast paced events.
February 1, 2019
No competent intelligence officer (let alone two competent intelligence officers working together at the direction of the Prime Minister of Israel to protect the State) would take 6 unvetted and untrained people to another country to find a woman-a woman related to a famous terrorist- who beguiled and left a senior officer in the intel service of that country. Wait- this involves Israelis going into Germany so....NO! And btw, how did this mesh with the mission Ya'ara was given? I was willing to give this a chance and enjoyed the first several chapters (and thought the GRU plot was credible) but I couldn't get past the total lack of tradecraft. Wandering around the countryside checking farms and then later breaking into one of those farms with people-no. Meeting for dinner at a restaurant and discussing what happened that day and making plans- no. Oh and the bit about Ya'ara using an actual paper map? Seriously? There's also a subplot set in 1947 which I'm sure hooked in at some point past the 40 percent mark where I gave up but which until then didn't seem to be relevant. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'm sure there's a market for this but for me, it was just too unrealistic.
October 23, 2019
I wouldn't want Ya'ra looking for me anytime soon. This assassin was recruited by the Prime Minister of Israel to carry out clandestine killings. The problem is, her efficiency was her signature. After recruiting a team of rookie operatives she carries out three hits. The government of London is in an uproar. A former friend, Michael, visits to see if it was her work. She never let on but did not do any jobs afterwards. I loved this novel.
August 15, 2019
This appears, I hope, to be the first book in a new series about “special ops.” for Israel. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There was a lot of variety as far as training recruits was concerned and the assignments were very suspenseful. The main character, Ya’ara Stein, was an intelligent and brave woman. I hope to read more of her adventures.
October 24, 2021
Tried to muddle through based on the first book by de Shalit. It’s as if was written by someone else. Decided to spend my time with something else.
July 29, 2019
Don't bother.!! Read Daniel Silva instead if you are interested in Israeli spies. So much better and very well written.
February 18, 2020
Yawn!!! Boring!!! Why oh why did I try to get through this book!
January 9, 2021
Oh, why bother.
April 12, 2021
Gave up midway and skipped to the end. Way too slow
April 4, 2022
Very stilted language - nobody talks like this.
March 3, 2023
Disappointing. I know it's fiction, but the trail this storyline takes is too off the mark for me. Just another bunch of foreigners fooling around in other countries. Did not finish, sorry.
February 4, 2019
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A Spy in Exile by Jonathan De Shalit is a novel about an Israeli intelligence squad working in Europe. Mr. De Shalit is a nom de plume of a former high-ranking member of the Israeli Intelligence Community.
Ya’ara Stein, a disgraced Mossad agent, has been tagged by the Israeli prime minister to create a secret squad answerable only to him. The catch, of course, is that there might be times when they will be left high and dry.
Ya’ara recruits a bunch of new agents, answerable only to her, and starts going through a quick training course. The team’s first mission is when descendants of the Red Army Faction return to terrorize Europe.
I’m a sucker for good spy novels, so when I saw A Spy in Exile by Jonathan De Shalit, a novel about the Israeli Mossad I immediately requested it and put it on top of my “to read” list.
I found the book to be fast paced, filled with action and some tension. I enjoyed that the author weaved actual events within his fictional timeline to create a more believable, if not plausible story. I was familiar with many of the factual references, but for a different audience some explanations might be necessary (who is Ehud Barak and why was he dressed like a girl?). A few footnotes by the translator would be appropriate in those instances.
The team that the protagonist put together seems like they were pulled out of a Hollywood action movie, the author might have tried to create a team which is outside of the norm for the intelligence community, but it left me wandering if such a team really exist, and if they do would they be successful. After all, good intelligence usually wins the day.
I like my spies a bit more gray than the black and white world the author paints. I understand that in this type of work it helps to be an absolutist, even though all those I talked to who retired from the community realize, pretty quickly, that there are other solutions then the ones presented –and sometimes they’re better than just killing off someone.
As my father used to say “if you’re a hammer, every problem looks like a nail”.
As in many novels about intelligence professionals, the protagonist is pictures as walking on the edge of sanity, I don’t know if this is an accurate assessment of the professionals in the field but it sure makes an interesting story-line. After I finished reading this book, I realized that it is a second in a series featuring Ya’ara Stein, that didn’t bother me. The author rehashes several times what happened to her in the Mossad during the narrative and I didn’t feel I missed anything.
A Spy in Exile by Jonathan De Shalit is a novel about an Israeli intelligence squad working in Europe. Mr. De Shalit is a nom de plume of a former high-ranking member of the Israeli Intelligence Community.
Ya’ara Stein, a disgraced Mossad agent, has been tagged by the Israeli prime minister to create a secret squad answerable only to him. The catch, of course, is that there might be times when they will be left high and dry.
Ya’ara recruits a bunch of new agents, answerable only to her, and starts going through a quick training course. The team’s first mission is when descendants of the Red Army Faction return to terrorize Europe.
I’m a sucker for good spy novels, so when I saw A Spy in Exile by Jonathan De Shalit, a novel about the Israeli Mossad I immediately requested it and put it on top of my “to read” list.
I found the book to be fast paced, filled with action and some tension. I enjoyed that the author weaved actual events within his fictional timeline to create a more believable, if not plausible story. I was familiar with many of the factual references, but for a different audience some explanations might be necessary (who is Ehud Barak and why was he dressed like a girl?). A few footnotes by the translator would be appropriate in those instances.
The team that the protagonist put together seems like they were pulled out of a Hollywood action movie, the author might have tried to create a team which is outside of the norm for the intelligence community, but it left me wandering if such a team really exist, and if they do would they be successful. After all, good intelligence usually wins the day.
I like my spies a bit more gray than the black and white world the author paints. I understand that in this type of work it helps to be an absolutist, even though all those I talked to who retired from the community realize, pretty quickly, that there are other solutions then the ones presented –and sometimes they’re better than just killing off someone.
As my father used to say “if you’re a hammer, every problem looks like a nail”.
As in many novels about intelligence professionals, the protagonist is pictures as walking on the edge of sanity, I don’t know if this is an accurate assessment of the professionals in the field but it sure makes an interesting story-line. After I finished reading this book, I realized that it is a second in a series featuring Ya’ara Stein, that didn’t bother me. The author rehashes several times what happened to her in the Mossad during the narrative and I didn’t feel I missed anything.
July 8, 2019
Thirty-four-year-old Ya'ara Stein is a beautiful, self-confident, and opinionated woman who was booted out of the Mossad for being "aggressive, undisciplined, [and] unpredictable." Ya'ara's brash exterior and sharp tongue notwithstanding, she is intensely lonely and emotionally bereft as a result of her tragic family history. She decides to complete her degree in filmmaking and is working on her latest project when she receives a surprising summons from Israel's prime minister. He asks her to form "a small, highly skilled strike force that can operate in absolute secrecy, completely detached from the state." The team will answer to no one but the prime minister, who will deny their existence when necessary. The ultimate goal is put Israel's enemies on notice that they cannot murder Jews with impunity. Ya'ara enlists her friend and former colleague, Amnon Aslan, to assist her with recruitment and training.
Events move more quickly than expected when Ya'ara's old friend, Matthias Geller, consults her about the disappearance of his lover, Martina Müller. After looking into the Martina's background, Ya'ara suspects that she is involved in a conspiracy to commit acts of terror, and this provides an opportunity for Stein's students to receive on-the-job training. Jonathan de Shalit's "A Spy in Exile" is set in Israel, Germany, the United States, France, Belgium, Russia and England in 2014, with flashbacks to 1947. This is a talky but thought-provoking and thematic thriller in which the author explores provocative and timely issues. For example, when undercover agents make mistakes, they are doomed to live with the consequences of their miscalculations. Can they continue to serve, knowing that there is a good chance that they will hurt the innocent along with the guilty? Furthermore, when someone is involved in covert missions that involve frequent travel and absolute confidentiality, how is it possible to have a meaningful relationship with a spouse and children?
In addition, the author discusses the ways in which political firestorms can erupt when operatives take out targets without consulting their allies. The bottom line is that espionage is not for the faint-hearted; it is messy, stressful, dangerous, and morally ambiguous. The dialogue in "A Spy in Exile" is stilted at times and there are too many rambling passages that slow down the proceedings. Nevertheless, the book's characters are colorfully depicted, the tale is engrossing and nuanced, and Shalit makes the crucial point that our turbulent and conflict-ridden world is doomed to experience endless carnage unless longstanding adversaries can find a way to live together in peace.
Events move more quickly than expected when Ya'ara's old friend, Matthias Geller, consults her about the disappearance of his lover, Martina Müller. After looking into the Martina's background, Ya'ara suspects that she is involved in a conspiracy to commit acts of terror, and this provides an opportunity for Stein's students to receive on-the-job training. Jonathan de Shalit's "A Spy in Exile" is set in Israel, Germany, the United States, France, Belgium, Russia and England in 2014, with flashbacks to 1947. This is a talky but thought-provoking and thematic thriller in which the author explores provocative and timely issues. For example, when undercover agents make mistakes, they are doomed to live with the consequences of their miscalculations. Can they continue to serve, knowing that there is a good chance that they will hurt the innocent along with the guilty? Furthermore, when someone is involved in covert missions that involve frequent travel and absolute confidentiality, how is it possible to have a meaningful relationship with a spouse and children?
In addition, the author discusses the ways in which political firestorms can erupt when operatives take out targets without consulting their allies. The bottom line is that espionage is not for the faint-hearted; it is messy, stressful, dangerous, and morally ambiguous. The dialogue in "A Spy in Exile" is stilted at times and there are too many rambling passages that slow down the proceedings. Nevertheless, the book's characters are colorfully depicted, the tale is engrossing and nuanced, and Shalit makes the crucial point that our turbulent and conflict-ridden world is doomed to experience endless carnage unless longstanding adversaries can find a way to live together in peace.
November 1, 2020
I read "A Spy in Exile" immediately after deShalit's "Traitor". While I found "Traitor" to be a tightly woven, suspenseful tale, "A Spy in Exile" slowly wanders between disparate subplots none of which I found compelling. The plot is pretty simple, the Israeli PM asks a former Mossad operative to put together an unofficial team to take out a list of enemies. Ya'ara, the former operative, puts together a team of eight members. Much of the book deals with interactions between the various team members, several of whom are dealing with daemons from their pasts. The first operation they get involved with, inexplicably, is a search for the girl friend of Ya'ara's friend Matthias who has disappeared. Turns out Martina, the girl friend, is mixed up in a terrorist attack in Germany. Ya'ara's team blows the whistle on them and prevents the attack. The team moves on to taking out two enemies on the PM's list, an Islamist in custody in Belgium who did a terrorist attack at a synagogue in Paris, and an imam in London who preaches the Jihad. Both operations are successful. Woven throughout the book are digressions regarding a sculptor Raphael. I never did pick up the significance of this subplot, although I admit I was bored with the book and skimmed the last quarter or so. The two hits have Israeli fingerprints all over them, resulting in major international problems for the government, but after the heat dies down the PM renews contact with Ya'ara, certainly laying the ground for additional novels about the hit team. I'm not going to read them, "A Spy in Exile" was enough for me.
September 25, 2018
“A Spy in Exile” by Jonathan de Shalit, published by Emily Bestler Books.
Category – Mystery/Thriller Publication Date – February 05, 2019.
If you remember Ya’ara Stein in “Traitor” took justice into her own hands that caused her to be released from the Mossad. She is back in “A Spy in Exile” and is being recruited by the Prime Minister to head an elite group to handle jobs that they must act independently and cannot be traced back to Israel or the Prime Minister, in other words, they will be out there acting on their own.
Stein must do her own recruiting and training. The recruits, both men and women, must be totally committed to the cause and forsake their former lives. Although she has been given months to train her troops a problem that comes up that puts them into action before their training even commences.
Stein must help an old friend and finds that this leads to a Russian attempt to terrorize Europe using the tactics of the IRA, the Baader Meinhof gang, and the Red Brigades of Italy.
Stein and her recruits must find a way to stop this action even though they are ill prepared to take on something of this nature.
Category – Mystery/Thriller Publication Date – February 05, 2019.
If you remember Ya’ara Stein in “Traitor” took justice into her own hands that caused her to be released from the Mossad. She is back in “A Spy in Exile” and is being recruited by the Prime Minister to head an elite group to handle jobs that they must act independently and cannot be traced back to Israel or the Prime Minister, in other words, they will be out there acting on their own.
Stein must do her own recruiting and training. The recruits, both men and women, must be totally committed to the cause and forsake their former lives. Although she has been given months to train her troops a problem that comes up that puts them into action before their training even commences.
Stein must help an old friend and finds that this leads to a Russian attempt to terrorize Europe using the tactics of the IRA, the Baader Meinhof gang, and the Red Brigades of Italy.
Stein and her recruits must find a way to stop this action even though they are ill prepared to take on something of this nature.
March 26, 2019
Thanks to GOODREADS- for this giveaway from publisher EMILY BESTLER BOOKS/ATRIA, who provided an advance copy.
This modern spy story is aptly called a thriller, because the tension persists throught and the reader can't put it down. It is unique, original, has well-developed characters, and seamless writing.
Ya'ara Stein, exiled spy, has been recruited by the Prime Minister to create a cadre of young cadets, and train them to carry out operations the way she did for the Mossad, before her rogue actions caused her to be forced out. In no time at all, her raw recruits are engaged in missions that would challenge even the most experienced agents.
Ya'ara is a deadly dangerous, temperamental, and unlikable protagonist. The other characters are mostly unappealing as well. That, and the brutality of the action makes for a constant sense of unease; the knowledge that something terrible is about to happen.
This spy story is only too believable and relevant, and will come to mind when reading about acts of terrorism and wondering if one of the world's great governments is responsible.
This modern spy story is aptly called a thriller, because the tension persists throught and the reader can't put it down. It is unique, original, has well-developed characters, and seamless writing.
Ya'ara Stein, exiled spy, has been recruited by the Prime Minister to create a cadre of young cadets, and train them to carry out operations the way she did for the Mossad, before her rogue actions caused her to be forced out. In no time at all, her raw recruits are engaged in missions that would challenge even the most experienced agents.
Ya'ara is a deadly dangerous, temperamental, and unlikable protagonist. The other characters are mostly unappealing as well. That, and the brutality of the action makes for a constant sense of unease; the knowledge that something terrible is about to happen.
This spy story is only too believable and relevant, and will come to mind when reading about acts of terrorism and wondering if one of the world's great governments is responsible.
February 13, 2025
I'd give it 1.5 stars if I could since it wasn't that bad, but I regretted spending time on the book, so it doesn't qualify as "it was ok."
The book starts off strong, but it starts meandering after the first chapter itself. There's too much introspection, too much focus on the internal lives of the team leader and the cadets of a "liquidation team." That would have been OK, too, but there's no depth to this exploration. The author introduces the reader to the characters' feelings and then jumps sporadically to different characters and subplots, so the reader cannot connect with anyone.
The "spying" aspect, or rather the aspect that deals with the assassinations on foreign soil are cliched and seem lifted from B-grade movies. There's no unpredictability, no good prose to redeem a subpar plot. Oh, as I rant, I feel like downgrading the rating another notch. In fact, as the book progresses, it becomes more disjointed with new characters and subplots, which have no business being in the storyline, thrown in at random. Truly, an awful book. There's no redeeming quality. It reminds me strongly of a book by Deborah Harkness that I read.
The book starts off strong, but it starts meandering after the first chapter itself. There's too much introspection, too much focus on the internal lives of the team leader and the cadets of a "liquidation team." That would have been OK, too, but there's no depth to this exploration. The author introduces the reader to the characters' feelings and then jumps sporadically to different characters and subplots, so the reader cannot connect with anyone.
The "spying" aspect, or rather the aspect that deals with the assassinations on foreign soil are cliched and seem lifted from B-grade movies. There's no unpredictability, no good prose to redeem a subpar plot. Oh, as I rant, I feel like downgrading the rating another notch. In fact, as the book progresses, it becomes more disjointed with new characters and subplots, which have no business being in the storyline, thrown in at random. Truly, an awful book. There's no redeeming quality. It reminds me strongly of a book by Deborah Harkness that I read.
March 17, 2019
This second outing for Jonathan de Shalit is about Yara'a Stein, the member of a secret group set up, at the behest of the Israeli President, by Aharon Levin, former Mossad head. Its task was to unmask a spy at the highest reaches of government power. The spy is ultimately unmasked. Aharon decides he should not be assassinated. Yara'a made clear to Aharon that she disagreed with him. She then went on to kill the spy before he could escape by sea to his handlers. Subsequently, Yara'a is dismissed from further work with Mossad. The Prime Minister requests her to set up her own team to undertake missions on his and Israel's behalf. Yara'a does indeed assemble a group. She takes them to Europe to assassinate two targets, one personal, the other to curtail the activities of a strident Muslim cleric in London. Ya'ara displayed dangerous disregard for her own safety in the Brussels assassination of a young man responsible for the attack on a Jewish synagogue, one of the victims being a friend of her mother's. In fact, her constant mood swings could point to a manic depressive state. I could award this book only two stars because I believe such an unstable person is not fit to continue fighting for Israel. She is accountable to nobody, is impulsive, mercurial and revenge-driven to such an extent that she could ultimately endanger herself and her team, and cause damage to, and retaliation against Israel. This book was so schizophrenic that I was profoundly troubled while reading it, and had to force myself to continue to the end.
Read
November 11, 2025It's a bit silly and you'll roll your eyes when the mathematician/philosopher/model appears. It's operationally ridiculous to have someone so potentially conspicuous, but it makes for saleable stories and there's no shortage of equally ridiculous characters in tv and movies. I can say that de Shalit is not completely obsessed with operational details and explores the characters more closely.
There are operational details that also don't make any sense for plot reasons. In the first mission for example, if something is an obvious "jeep," it is equally obvious at the same moment whether it is a Land Rover, Toyota, or Jeep, especially to a trained observer. It is less obvious distinguishing among e.g., GM marks at a distance, but certainly not among those three. There are many other examples, but perhaps you can overlook them.
Unfortunately, once you've read some Hamilton books you start to see how hopelessly almost involuntarily right-wing most spy novels are. As is this one. And we can add Islamophobic, but also hardly alone in this.
There are operational details that also don't make any sense for plot reasons. In the first mission for example, if something is an obvious "jeep," it is equally obvious at the same moment whether it is a Land Rover, Toyota, or Jeep, especially to a trained observer. It is less obvious distinguishing among e.g., GM marks at a distance, but certainly not among those three. There are many other examples, but perhaps you can overlook them.
Unfortunately, once you've read some Hamilton books you start to see how hopelessly almost involuntarily right-wing most spy novels are. As is this one. And we can add Islamophobic, but also hardly alone in this.
June 25, 2023
The story starts with the super heroine Mossad agent having killed a foreign agent. She is happy about this. A stick in the mud Mossad official sees her as 'aggressive, ill disciplined and too prone to violence', but what would he know?
Unappreciated by the establishment, she becomes an ex Mossad agent.
She is happy about this. She had felt 'restricted by regulations and procedures and orders and approvals'. She wanted 'to breathe.'
This is on page 2, and things get worse. The Prime Minister has noticed her laissez faire approach to the spying game, and summons her for a dangerous assignment.
I read a bit more, but the target audience seems to be sixteen year old females and/ or Benjamin Netanyahu apologists, and I am neither of those.
Proceed at your own peril.
Caveat: The book was translated from Hebrew. There is a possibility that the translator, Steven Cohen, can be assigned some of the responsibility.
Unappreciated by the establishment, she becomes an ex Mossad agent.
She is happy about this. She had felt 'restricted by regulations and procedures and orders and approvals'. She wanted 'to breathe.'
This is on page 2, and things get worse. The Prime Minister has noticed her laissez faire approach to the spying game, and summons her for a dangerous assignment.
I read a bit more, but the target audience seems to be sixteen year old females and/ or Benjamin Netanyahu apologists, and I am neither of those.
Proceed at your own peril.
Caveat: The book was translated from Hebrew. There is a possibility that the translator, Steven Cohen, can be assigned some of the responsibility.
done-with
February 12, 2019I was very disappointed by this one... I really enjoyed Traitor and was looking forward to returning to that world, this time from the vantage point of Ya'ara, who played such a pivotal role in the way the earlier story played out. I found this one difficult from the get-go though, plagued by a forced-feeling, flat storytelling style and head-shaking decision-making that never resonated or (frankly) made much sense... It felt implausible and unlikely that the brilliant edgy agent from Traitor would make these decisions/find herself in this place, and that made it a tough read for me. It's a shame, because I think she's a great character with a lot of potential and the concept was intriguing, it just never all came together in a way that felt organic as the first did.
Thanks to NetGalley for my review copy.
Thanks to NetGalley for my review copy.
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