Spies and books about spies have always intrigued me. Maybe it was because I grew up overseas and had to learn how to fit into another culture or maybe it was just because I loved the suspense that accompanies spy novels. What I hadn’t always considered however, was the affect that such a life would have on a spy’s family, especially the children.

A man is murdered in cold blood in his apartment.  He had worked for MI6, and made a name for himself as a good but some what difficult operative. More recently however, he was working in the private sector helping companies negotiate the intricacies of doing business with former communist countries.  His name was Christopher Keen.

The brothers, Mark and Benjamin Keen never really knew their father since he left to take an overseas posting while they were quite young and never returned to the family. Now more than twenty years later, they are suddenly contacted by the authorities and told that their father is dead and that his death is probably a homicide.

Benjamin never wanted to reconnect with his father. His resentment towards his father for his abandonment was so strong that he wanted nothing to do with him. Even when he got married recently, he never considered inviting his father.  And yet, knowing now that his father has probably been murdered, is strangely unsettling and dredges up conflicting emotions.

Mark is shocked at the news. Unbeknownst to Benjamin, Mark has been in contact with his father. The company Mark works for, a vast entertainment conglomerate, with plans to expand their nightclub business into Russia, had hired the consulting firm Divisar, where Christopher worked, to help in their negotiations. Mark has always been curious about his father, wanting to get to know him and the work that he used to do for MI6, so he was glad that they would have this opportunity to work together. But now that opportunity is gone leaving Mark grieving and confused.

As the investigation into the murder progresses it becomes clear that this was a murder of revenge but the police are uncertain about who or why.  MI6 and other agencies, including the CIA are soon involved, trying to figure out the motive, but only end up muddying the waters of the investigation. Worried that their father’s murder will just become an unsolved murder, Mark and Benjamin begin their own effort to solve the mystery of who killed their father.

Cumming’s cool, crisp prose grabs your attention and pulls you quickly into the lives of the characters. Mark and Benjamin with their conflicting feelings towards their father are complicated and interesting characters. The back story of the complex relationship between the West and the Soviet Union during the Cold War is told simply and clearly giving added dimension and complexity to the motives for murdering Christopher. This is a thoughtful, satisfying and perceptive book about the lives of spies and the costs that life inflicts on those around them!

Brenda’s Rating: ****(4 out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Keith, Ken Sharon and Marian

Book Study Worthy: yes

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