A Question of Time: The Snake Eater Chronicles 1

In this solid series launch set in 1979 from military historian Stejskal (Special Forces Berlin: Clandestine Cold War Operations of the U.S. Army’s Elite, 1956–1990), the CIA offers U.S. Army Master Sgt. Kim Becker, a member of the Special Forces Berlin unit, a job the agency feels it can’t accomplish on its own—the rescue of an East German asset, code-named GBOZ, who has just sent an emergency message saying he’s been compromised. GBOZ, a general in the Stasi’s foreign intelligence directorate, is one of the CIA’s “only high-level penetrations of the Warsaw Pact.” Several major spying operations would be harmed if the general was arrested and broke under interrogation. Becker and his team put together a daring plan to smuggle the general out of East Germany. Stejskal, who served 35 years with the U.S. Army Special Forces and the CIA, convincingly describes the mission’s progress, and does a good job building suspense even if the outcome is never in doubt. Fans of realistic espionage fiction will look forward to the sequel. (Oct.)