Description

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“A smart, sleek, and absolutely gripping thriller that swept me away.” —Brad Thor



A daring CIA operation threatens chaos in the Kremlin. But can Langley trust the Russian at its center?

CIA officers Sia and Max enter Russia under commercial cover to recruit Vladimir Putin’s moneyman. Sia works for a London law firm that conceals the wealth of the superrich. Max’s family business in Mexico—a CIA front since the 1960s—is a farm that breeds high-end racehorses. They pose as a couple to target Vadim, Putin’s private banker, and his wife, Anna, who—unbeknownst to CIA—is a Russian intelligence officer under deep cover at the bank. As they descend further into a Russian world dripping with luxury and rife with gangland violence, Sia and Max’s only hope may be Anna, who is playing a game of her own. Careening between the horse ranch in northern Mexico, the corridors of Langley, and the dark opulence of Putin’s Russia, Moscow X is both a gripping thriller of modern espionage and a raw, unsparing commentary on the nature of truth, loyalty, and vengeance amid the shadow war between the United States and Russia.

About the Author

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David McCloskey is the author of the novels Damascus Station and Moscow X. He’s a former CIA analyst and a former consultant at McKinsey & Company. While at the CIA, he worked in field stations across the Middle East. He lives in Texas.

Praise For…

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Among the very best espionage fiction in print.
— Mark Greaney, author of The Chaos Agent

A gripping read…leavened with dry, poetic wit.
— Adam LeBor - Financial Times

David McCloskey has asserted himself as a world-class thriller writer.… [He already calls] to mind le Carré, Forsyth, and Silva.
— Gregg Hurwitz, New York Times best-selling author of the Orphan X series

A white-knuckled, fast-paced journey into the modern age of spy craft, where high tech espionage jostles dangerously against old school cunning and Machiavellian intrigue.
— Kathleen Kent, New York Times best-selling author of Black Wolf

Propulsive, terrifying, [and] laced with authentic CIA lore. More authoritative on how Putin’s courtiers and oligarchs work than most journalists.
— Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Stalin: Court of the Red Tsar

A spellbinding journey into the brutal, shadowy intrigues of the Russian elite and the underground world of espionage.
— Clarissa Ward, CNN chief international correspondent and author of On All Fronts

[A] terrific read, cementing McCloskey in my mind as the best spy fiction writer since le Carré.
— Nicholas Kristof

Those of us who spent our careers running spies have been waiting for the next Charles McCarry or Jason Matthews.… With Moscow X, David McCloskey takes his place among that company.

— John Sipher, former CIA senior operations officer

Moscow X brilliantly captures the nuances of field work in hostile environments, the thrill and terror that grip every intelligence officer when they are in the belly of the beast.

— Marc Polymeropoulos, author of Clarity in Crisis

McCloskey mixes the tradecraft of John le Carré with the glitz of Sidney Sheldon…to produce a narrative filled with double- and triple-crosses enriched by pitch-perfect insider details.
— Publishers Weekly, starred review

An elegant, masterfully written tale of espionage told by someone who knows what that world should look like.
— Ryan Steck - Real Book Spy

Moscow X is a great read.

— Paul Kolbe - Cipher Brief

The CIA pokes the Russian bear, and thriller fans win.
— Kirkus Reviews