Chasing Chi: The FBI’s Groundbreaking Pursuit of China’s Most Prolific Spy Family

Former FBI special agent Gaylord debuts with a spellbinding account of the Bureau’s landmark case against Chi Mak, the ringleader of a Chinese spy network accused of funneling U.S. naval secrets to Beijing. Sparked by a tip about Mak’s suspicious activities while working as an engineer at a Southern California defense contractor in the early 2000s, the yearslong investigation unfolds with the drama of a political thriller, complete with bureaucratic infighting and a climactic midnight airport arrest in 2005. As Gaylord catalogs Mak’s efforts to smuggle details about American defense technology back to China with the help of his wife and his brother’s family, he offers a warts-and-all look at the challenges inside the FBI and its fraught collaboration with federal prosecutors. He reserves his sharpest criticism for the Justice Department and highlights the dogged persistence of his surveillance team in helping to land a rare U.S. counterintelligence win against China when Mak was convicted in 2008. Gaylord’s firsthand perspective, brisk pacing, and dry humor lend the proceedings equal parts authority and approachability, making for an insightful chronicle of a consequential case. Espionage fans and readers interested in the inner workings of federal investigations should take a look. (Dec.)