Happy Friday, readers!
The books featured today are a couple of rollicking spy-hunting thrillers. Beyond just their excellent plots and realistic spycraft, each has characters with real depth and feeling — not always the case in the thriller genre. I’m not quite sure yet, but there’s a good chance one or both of these ends up in my year-end favorites list.
On Monday I’ll be sending along our family favorites for October. And as always, I’d love to hear what you’re reading and enjoying.
Damascus Station by David McCloskey
David McCloskey has been writing critically acclaimed spy novels for the last five years, cranking out a handful of stories in that time. A big part of the reason he can do that with such efficiency and authority is that he was a CIA analyst before turning to writing. He was up close and personal with spies, espionage tactics, cool (sometimes very low tech) gadgets, and all the things that you’d expect to find in a James Bond movie.
So it makes sense that everything in Damascus Station, his 2021 debut, feels incredibly real — there are no gimmicks or head-scratching plot twists or superhero spies who can do no wrong. CIA officer Sam Joseph is tasked with recruiting a Syrian “asset” who has access to the murderous regime’s highest levels of power. Naturally, the asset is an impossibly beautiful woman and Sam struggles mightily to balance his feelings with his mission objective, all while trying desperately to save Syrian lives.
Just like any real cloak-and-dagger situation, the characters go through long periods of waiting and setting things up, followed by brief and intense action scenes. McCloskey’s trick is that he can get us through those different elements in the right proportions — that is, the waiting periods take up short chapters here and there (and we always learn something valuable), while the high-octane scenes are stretched out, with the tension ratcheted all the way up for as long as possible.
All characters were compelling and entertaining, the plot never felt forced, and there were all kinds of great insights on human nature (which is always a huge part of real spycraft). I enjoyed just about every page of Damascus Station. As I’m always reminded when I read a spy novel, no job in the world sounds more interesting or more terrifying. I highly look forward to reading the rest of David McCloskey’s books.
Five Decembers by James Kestrel
This is a book that I would not have picked up or likely even encountered if I wasn’t someone who scrolled through book lists a bit too often. Five Decembers won the 2022 Edgar Award for Best Novel (the Edgars are given to crime novels each year), marking the first time that the specialty publisher Hard Case Crime1 took the top prize in the genre.
This one especially caught my attention because it mixes a murdery detective story with WWII historical fiction. In December 1941, in the days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, officer Joe McGrady is tasked with investigating the gruesome murder of a young man who had rather important familial connections. But then Japan brought America into WWII and the whole case got mucked up, sending Joe on an unexpected tour of East Asia.
Turns out, the plot runs deeper than just a spur-of-the-moment crime of passion and Joe ends up on the hunt for a Nazi spy. Amidst all the action, James Kestrel threw in a truly heartfelt love story that served as the perfect balance for the narrative.
I didn’t really have any expectations coming into Five Decembers, but was blown away by how well done it was on every level. The pacing was perfect, the characters were gritty and real, the plot was convincing, and the writing was really good. I gobbled up all 400+ pages and was especially satisfied that Kestrel nailed the ending.
If you’re in the mood for a taut historical thriller with a lot of heart, look no further. I’ll be recommending this one far and wide for a long time.
Thanks so much for reading. Be good to each other. Until next week,
-Jeremy
Hard Case Crime publishes old-school crime novels that feature those pulpy throwback covers. They look kind of ridiculous on shelves, but I dig the vintage vibes; they obviously don’t take themselves too seriously.