Damascus Station: Unmissable New Spy Thriller From Former CIA Officer (Damascus Station, 1)

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This superb debut from a former CIA Analyst is one of the most striking spy novels since Mick Herron’s magnificent Slow Horses in 2010. The writing is fine, the characters well-drawn, and the action moves along at a pace that's breakneck but often seems unhurried. The story moves along well, the Syrian characters are well drawn, and there's an intriguing, plausible climax and ending. Once in Damascus, Joseph and Head of Station, Artemis Proctor are thrust into a dangerous game as they hunt for the man responsible for the disappearance of a CIA officer in the city. McCloskey deftly weaves their alliance, highlighting the challenges of navigating alliances in a world where trust is a rare commodity.the ensuing and truly gripping cat and mouse game draws in doomed local agents, corrupt officials, moles on both sides of the divide, sadistic torturers and obsessed spy catchers in the Republican Guard. He captures the places and people--and most of all, the sickening feeling in the gut--of this war that shattered poor Syria while America mostly watched. Unlike many American "spy" thriller authors, his book actually emphasizes spycraft and espionage rather than gunfights, explosions, and special operations. Both Sam and Mariam are unusually attractive (of course, this being fiction), and they are drawn together from the outset. Sam knows this is forbidden by the CIA; a case officer should never enter into a relationship with an agent.

Damascus Station" is a triumph in the espionage genre, seamlessly blending action, suspense, and a touch of romance. David McCloskey does a fantastic job painting a fictional yet realistic picture of the people and places involved in the brutal, heartbreaking civil war taking place early in the 21st century. Equally, I would have been thrilled with a rich historical fiction that made you feel and think deeply. Many who had my take on this book did not finish, well sports fans I made it and now feel like I need a star on that dead CIA wall.

His flaws, vulnerabilities, and unwavering determination make him a compelling protagonist whose every move is as calculated as it is unpredictable. As interesting as the book is, the author spends a lot of time in my opinion in unnecessary minutiae. At heart, the novel is a love story pairing Sam Joseph, one of the Agency’s top recruiters of agents in “denied areas” such as Moscow (and now Damascus), with Mariam Haddad, a senior official in the Presidential Palace.