From the award-winning author of Safe Houses—an "intelligent, tense and sharply written espionage thriller” (Wall Street Journal) about a CIA agent and a young expat who find themselves caught up in a dangerous world, whose secrets, if revealed, could have disastrous repercussions for them both.
When CIA agent Claire Saylor is told that she’ll be going undercover in Hamburg to pose as the wife of an academic who has published a controversial interpretation of the Quran’s promise to martyrs, she assumes the job is a punishment for past unorthodox behavior. But when she discovers her team leader is Paul Bridger, another Agency maverick, she realizes there may be more to this mission than meets the eye—and not just for professional reasons.
Meanwhile, across town in Hamburg, Mahmoud, a recent Moroccan e´migre´, begins to fall under the sway of a group of radicals at his local mosque. The deeper he’s drawn into the group, the greater the danger he faces, and he is soon torn between his obligations to them and his feelings toward a beautiful Westernized Muslim woman.
As Claire learns the truth about her mission, and Mahmoud grows closer to the radicals, the danger between them builds and spells disaster far beyond the CIA.
Genre: Thriller
When CIA agent Claire Saylor is told that she’ll be going undercover in Hamburg to pose as the wife of an academic who has published a controversial interpretation of the Quran’s promise to martyrs, she assumes the job is a punishment for past unorthodox behavior. But when she discovers her team leader is Paul Bridger, another Agency maverick, she realizes there may be more to this mission than meets the eye—and not just for professional reasons.
Meanwhile, across town in Hamburg, Mahmoud, a recent Moroccan e´migre´, begins to fall under the sway of a group of radicals at his local mosque. The deeper he’s drawn into the group, the greater the danger he faces, and he is soon torn between his obligations to them and his feelings toward a beautiful Westernized Muslim woman.
As Claire learns the truth about her mission, and Mahmoud grows closer to the radicals, the danger between them builds and spells disaster far beyond the CIA.
Genre: Thriller
Praise for this book
"Fesperman raises the bar sky-high with this one. Smart, sophisticated, suspenseful, and intensely human. One of the great espionage novels of our time." - Lee Child
"The narrative choreography demanded by Fesperman's split timelines is expertly handled, and the dilemma faced by Helen, in particular – whether to be a good employee or a good citizen – illustrates the kind of weight that the spy novel, in the right hands, is capable of bearing." - Mick Herron
"A terrific book combining the gripping immediacy of a present-day murder mystery with the high-stakes sexy intrigue of a Cold War espionage thriller." - Chris Pavone
"Both gripping and scarily plausible, from the first page to its chilling conclusion, The Cover Wife is a book that demands to be read." - Kevin Wignall
"The narrative choreography demanded by Fesperman's split timelines is expertly handled, and the dilemma faced by Helen, in particular – whether to be a good employee or a good citizen – illustrates the kind of weight that the spy novel, in the right hands, is capable of bearing." - Mick Herron
"A terrific book combining the gripping immediacy of a present-day murder mystery with the high-stakes sexy intrigue of a Cold War espionage thriller." - Chris Pavone
"Both gripping and scarily plausible, from the first page to its chilling conclusion, The Cover Wife is a book that demands to be read." - Kevin Wignall
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Used availability for Dan Fesperman's The Cover Wife