cover image Spy Story

Spy Story

James Burke. St. Martin's Press, $16.95 (262pp) ISBN 978-0-312-02985-2

Neither wooden dialogue or forgettable characters can do in a plot as strong as former FBI and CIA agent Burke provides. After guessing correctly that headquarters wants him dead, KGB agent Telchoff immediately defects to the U.S., an important event to the CIA, which has learned of a Soviet mole hiding high up in the federal government. Meanwhile, another KGB agent, whose Asian features allow him to pass for a Palestinian, avidly pursues his mission to kill anyone in the U.S. who may have knowledge, unwitting or otherwise, of the mole's identity. Pat Morley, the CIA freelancer first met in A Present for Santa , is asked to ``handle'' Telchoff, to protect the principal players and to unearth the mole. Despite the annoyance of Telchoff's Russified English--he sounds like Yakov Smirnov playing ``E.T.''--the gripping narrative is sure to please the most demanding spy-story enthusiast. (July)