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Red Widow #1
Red Widow
An exhilarating spy thriller about two women CIA agents who become intertwined around a threat to the Russia Division--one that's coming from inside the agency.
Lyndsey Duncan worries her career with the CIA might be over. After lines are crossed with another intelligence agent during her most recent assignment, she is sent home to Washington on administrative leave. So when a former colleague, now Chief of the Russia Division, recruits her for an internal investigation, she jumps at the chance to prove herself once more. Lyndsey was once a top handler in the Moscow Field Station, known as the "human lie detector" and praised for recruiting some of the most senior Russian officials. But now, three Russian assets have been discovered--including one of her own--and the CIA is convinced there's a mole in the department. With years of work in question, and lives on the line, Lyndsey is thrown back into life at the agency, only this time tracing the steps of those closest to her.
Meanwhile, fellow agent Theresa Warner can't avoid the spotlight. She is the infamous "Red Widow," the wife of a former director killed in the field under mysterious circumstances. With her husband's legacy shadowing her every move, Theresa is a fixture of the Russia Division, and as she and Lyndsey strike up an unusual friendship, her knowledge proves invaluable. But as Lyndsey uncovers a surprising connection to Theresa that could answer all of her questions, she exposes a terrifying web of secrets within the department, if only she is willing to unravel it...
Lyndsey Duncan worries her career with the CIA might be over. After lines are crossed with another intelligence agent during her most recent assignment, she is sent home to Washington on administrative leave. So when a former colleague, now Chief of the Russia Division, recruits her for an internal investigation, she jumps at the chance to prove herself once more. Lyndsey was once a top handler in the Moscow Field Station, known as the "human lie detector" and praised for recruiting some of the most senior Russian officials. But now, three Russian assets have been discovered--including one of her own--and the CIA is convinced there's a mole in the department. With years of work in question, and lives on the line, Lyndsey is thrown back into life at the agency, only this time tracing the steps of those closest to her.
Meanwhile, fellow agent Theresa Warner can't avoid the spotlight. She is the infamous "Red Widow," the wife of a former director killed in the field under mysterious circumstances. With her husband's legacy shadowing her every move, Theresa is a fixture of the Russia Division, and as she and Lyndsey strike up an unusual friendship, her knowledge proves invaluable. But as Lyndsey uncovers a surprising connection to Theresa that could answer all of her questions, she exposes a terrifying web of secrets within the department, if only she is willing to unravel it...
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 23, 2021
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About the author
Alma Katsu
42 books3,273 followers"Hard to put down. Not recommended reading after dark." -- Stephen King
"Makes the supernatural seem possible" -- Publishers Weekly
Award-winning author of eight novels, including historical horror (The Hunger, The Deep, The Fervor) and spy novels (Red Widow, Red London). Coming September 2025: FIEND (Putnam)
"Makes the supernatural seem possible" -- Publishers Weekly
Award-winning author of eight novels, including historical horror (The Hunger, The Deep, The Fervor) and spy novels (Red Widow, Red London). Coming September 2025: FIEND (Putnam)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 584 reviews
February 10, 2022
Alma Katsu switches genres with
RED WIDOW
. Instead of horror, fantasy, and the supernatural, she draws on her experience as an intelligence analyst with several U.S. agencies in this engrossing espionage mystery. Similar to her other books, she manages to reveal human weaknesses and their consequences in a compelling and very readable way.
Lyndsey Duncan has been recalled back to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. She’s been sent home on administrative leave after dating a foreign intelligence agent during her assignment in Beirut when a former colleague who is now chief of the Russia Division recruits her for an internal investigation. Three Russians providing information to the United States have been disappeared or died, including one she recruited when she was a handler in the Moscow Field Station. The CIA is convinced there’s a mole, but who is it?
Lyndsey is a likeable character who is lonely, isolated, and questioning her career. However, she is determined to find and expose the traitor. Other major characters include Theresa Warner, Eric Newman, and Raymond Murphy. Theresa is the wife of a former CIA chief killed in the field and has a young son. She and Lyndsey become friends during the course of the story. Eric is the one that brings Lyndsey in to work on the investigation. He has a tendency to be controlling, but supportive. Raymond Murphy is from the Counterintelligence division of the CIA and the person working with Lyndsey to find the mole.
While I have seen this novel categorized as an espionage thriller, it more closely resembles a police procedural. This is a story about the investigation and the people involved. It isn’t full of action, although there are a few action scenes. The suspense is built as the investigation evolves and discoveries are made.
Katsu includes some plot twists that may catch some by surprise. Information on the CIA and part of its structure is weaved into the story. The story largely takes place within the walls of the CIA headquarters building. One of the revelations that struck me was how similar office employees are, whether they work for the CIA or a corporation. There are meetings, collaborations, computer work, paper work, secrets, projects, reports, office politics, competition, and gossip. The writing flowed well and was descriptive, but sometimes repeated details became telling rather than showing, which caused the pace to slow. Themes include violence, murder, loyalty, betrayal, lies, friendship, ambition, deceit, morality, national security, and much more.
Overall, this was suspenseful and intriguing with compelling characters that kept me turning the pages. With a fascinating story, it kept me fully engaged in learning who the traitor was. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.
This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date was March 23, 2021. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
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My 4 star review will be posted 3-4 days after it is published at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
Lyndsey Duncan has been recalled back to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. She’s been sent home on administrative leave after dating a foreign intelligence agent during her assignment in Beirut when a former colleague who is now chief of the Russia Division recruits her for an internal investigation. Three Russians providing information to the United States have been disappeared or died, including one she recruited when she was a handler in the Moscow Field Station. The CIA is convinced there’s a mole, but who is it?
Lyndsey is a likeable character who is lonely, isolated, and questioning her career. However, she is determined to find and expose the traitor. Other major characters include Theresa Warner, Eric Newman, and Raymond Murphy. Theresa is the wife of a former CIA chief killed in the field and has a young son. She and Lyndsey become friends during the course of the story. Eric is the one that brings Lyndsey in to work on the investigation. He has a tendency to be controlling, but supportive. Raymond Murphy is from the Counterintelligence division of the CIA and the person working with Lyndsey to find the mole.
While I have seen this novel categorized as an espionage thriller, it more closely resembles a police procedural. This is a story about the investigation and the people involved. It isn’t full of action, although there are a few action scenes. The suspense is built as the investigation evolves and discoveries are made.
Katsu includes some plot twists that may catch some by surprise. Information on the CIA and part of its structure is weaved into the story. The story largely takes place within the walls of the CIA headquarters building. One of the revelations that struck me was how similar office employees are, whether they work for the CIA or a corporation. There are meetings, collaborations, computer work, paper work, secrets, projects, reports, office politics, competition, and gossip. The writing flowed well and was descriptive, but sometimes repeated details became telling rather than showing, which caused the pace to slow. Themes include violence, murder, loyalty, betrayal, lies, friendship, ambition, deceit, morality, national security, and much more.
Overall, this was suspenseful and intriguing with compelling characters that kept me turning the pages. With a fascinating story, it kept me fully engaged in learning who the traitor was. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.
This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date was March 23, 2021. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
----------------
My 4 star review will be posted 3-4 days after it is published at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
April 9, 2022
What a treat reading “Red Widow” by Alma Katsu was. My favorite part of the story is that its main character is female and most who work with her are female. At last, a spy novel featuring the strength of females. Not to say this is only a spy story highlighting women, it’s a spy story that shows the dark underbelly of the CIA and FBI. While being a spy like Tom Cruise looks romantic and exciting, Katsu wanted to show the personal toll that takes place in family lives and private lives for those who work in these institutions.
Lyndsey Duncan has fallen from CIA grace after she had an affair with another intelligence agent. As the story opens, she’s fretting over her career and her future. Unexpectantly, she’s offered a new position in the Russia division. She has prior experience working in the division and knows many of the players. She’s entrusted with finding and exposing an internal spy.
Enter the Red Widow. She’s the widow of the CIA agent who was killed in action while undercover in Moscow. Lyndsey has been warned to steer clear of her, as she didn’t take the death of her husband well. Of course, Lyndsey is intrigued.
Lyndsey continues to be plagued by her reprimand from her last position. Plus, she questions why she was chosen for this position. Slowly the reader learns of the widow’s story. Her viewpoint is used sparingly, to add to the intrigue.
While reading this, I was suspect of every character in the novel (except for Lyndsey). Katsu excels in pacing this thriller. I could not read fast enough. Katsu’s 35-year career with Intelligence agencies shines through in her attention to detail. I highly recommend this one!
Lyndsey Duncan has fallen from CIA grace after she had an affair with another intelligence agent. As the story opens, she’s fretting over her career and her future. Unexpectantly, she’s offered a new position in the Russia division. She has prior experience working in the division and knows many of the players. She’s entrusted with finding and exposing an internal spy.
Enter the Red Widow. She’s the widow of the CIA agent who was killed in action while undercover in Moscow. Lyndsey has been warned to steer clear of her, as she didn’t take the death of her husband well. Of course, Lyndsey is intrigued.
Lyndsey continues to be plagued by her reprimand from her last position. Plus, she questions why she was chosen for this position. Slowly the reader learns of the widow’s story. Her viewpoint is used sparingly, to add to the intrigue.
While reading this, I was suspect of every character in the novel (except for Lyndsey). Katsu excels in pacing this thriller. I could not read fast enough. Katsu’s 35-year career with Intelligence agencies shines through in her attention to detail. I highly recommend this one!
May 2, 2021
Picture this: A young professional woman sits alone at a DC bar, sipping a glass of wine. An older man, clearly a DC player, puts his best moves on our heroine, who swats away his every attempt at impressing her by saying, "Mm. That's a lie." The player is flustered, becomes combative, but finally admits that she caught him out every time; she is a human lie-detector, and he's impressed, despite himself. "Bureau?" he asks, as she collects her things to leave. "CIA," she replies. "Until they fire me tomorrow morning."
Pretty compelling opener to a spy thriller, huh? And it would have been nice to see Lyndsey Duncan -- RED WIDOW’s heroine (I guess?) -- actually put her skills as a human lie-detector to some clever use, even once, in this book; if we had been shown, not told, that they exist. Instead, we get this:
The average person will tell three lies every ten minutes. I can predict when someone is lying with greater accuracy than a polygraph.
And that's not even internal monologue, or the opening of the book; it's a line from...a PowerPoint presentation she once gave. And this particular skill isn't mentioned again for nearly 100 pages. Also, it rarely works to her advantage and in NO WAY lends itself to the book’s resolution, so it's not the hook you think it is. It’s such a nonsensical, tacked-on thing that I’m almost certain it was shoehorned in as an afterthought, possibly after an editor said, "Lyndsey is incredibly dull and pointless, give her some sort of Sherlock thing."
Calling this book "RED WIDOW" is the equivalent of titling the greatest espionage thriller of all time "TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, BILL HAYDON"; it literally gives away the mole, on the title page, before the narrative confirms it outright not even a third of the way in. So there's our first source of tension out the door: the Red Widow is the mole. Shocker. Sort of guessed that because, you know, "red." So obviously the point of this book is not Mole Hunt, because we the reader know immediately who it is, and Lindsey spends 90% of the story sitting on ass searching CIA Slack Channels for clues.
Where is the suspense, then? Being a "thriller," surely the author gives us a Ticking Clock -- someone or something at imminent risk should the mole go unwhacked -- to keep us perched on the edges of our seats, right? NOPE. Literally the only humans in any existential danger throughout this story are the faceless wife and daughter of a dead Russian spy (we'll get back to him later) -- known to us only via Secret Texting App -- and the author LITERALLY FORGETS ABOUT THEM by the end of the book. One minute their exfiltration is a moral imperative; the next, Lyndsey has forgotten about them completely and they vanish from the book. Some rando does tell Lindsey he'll do his best to get them out, but we inexplicably never learn if he did. Maybe they were both killed and dumped into the river, but who cares because we never meet them.
So, we've got a mole hunt that isn't a mole hunt because "Red" Widow; we have no ticking clock (other than the Red Widow's impending departure for Moscow, which is supposed to happen in "a handful of days"; you know, that thrilling measure of time, the vague handful); we have no clear main villain or antagonist, because the moment we learn the Red Widow is the mole we must assume that this is now a redemption story; in other words, there is absolutely no thrill in this thriller. Literally none. Lyndsey almost never leaves Langley – no clever footwork, none of the Smileyesque tradecraft that leads from one fascinating character to the next – and when it’s time for she and the Red Widow to become friends we’re simply told that it has happened:
Lyndsey is aware that today will mark a change in her relationship with Theresa.
We aren’t shown these changes through subtle and telling bits of prose and left to our own decisions about their friendship, we’re just told. They’re friends now, let’s get on with it. So frustrating, and like everything else about this "plot", so lazy.
So why is Lyndsey back on the job after a dalliance with a British agent in Berlin put her Agency career on the skids? Well there’s the mole hunt, sure (which wouldn’t even be a thing if the Russians hadn’t be so galactically and inexplicably stupid as to immediately roll up two Agency spies back-to-back, thus alerting Langley that they must have a mole; good one, FSB), but Lyndsey is most interested in Mr. Dead Russian Spy, the one with the wife and kid we never see. His sudden death is supposed to be a catalyst, the inciting incident that sets Lyndsey in motion, but on both its surface level and in the final reveal of why Dead Russian Spy is dead, it fails completely as a plot point.
Let’s work backwards from the utterly insane revelation that the CIA’s own head of Russia Section eliminated Dead Russian Spy with a Russian poison as bait to lure Lyndsey into the mole hunt. Ridiculous at face value but made ludicrous when it’s revealed that his poisoner – a comically trite ex-SEAL thug - GOT ON THE PLANE WITH HIS MARK AND USED HIS REAL NAME ON THE MANIFEST. That's right: instead of poisoning his victim in the airport and fucking off to literally ANYWHERE ELSE, this goon gets on the same plane, under his own name, just begging to be found out. Oh, and somewhere in the Agency files there's a literal receipt for his wetwork, damning evidence against Lyndsey's boss if found but yet another plot thread that goes absolutely nowhere. Absolute insanity.
What's so incomprehensible about Dead Russian Spy is that he only serves the plot, not the characters. The only motivation Lyndsey needs to come back and front the mole hunt is her own redemption in the eyes of the Agency; her boss need only hang her previous failure over her head to motivate the action, and in so doing the book could have made a powerful statement about the dynamic between men and women in government service: When men fuck their secretaries it's just another day at the office, but when women exercise their own sexual freedom, they're pushed out the door. This book never once touches on those subjects; Lyndsey spends the entire story mooning and fretting over her own reckless behavior with a British agent - who we never see, know nothing about; again, all off the page, told, not shown - instead of righteously fuming at the injustices done her career. I would expect that sort of behavior from a woman written by Robert Ludlum in the 1980s; that it's a character in a post-#MeToo 21st century world, written by a woman, is flabbergasting.
The Red Widow herself is another colossal character failure; like Lyndsey, she just moons over her lost husband - YET ANOTHER CHARACTER WE NEVER COME TO KNOW - and plots his salvation at her own cost. I kept waiting for there to be some sort of clever double-bluff; a switcheroo to explain why she'd risk her career, her child, her freedom over a husband we never meet, about whom we know next to nothing, but no: like everything else in this book, it's a straight line with no curves, much less hairpin turns. She just wants her hubby back, full stop; and she's so careless in her spycraft that she leaves clues all over CIA Facebook just waiting to be found. She's caught through clumsiness, ho-hum.
It's fair to say that I've read probably 85% of the existing canon of Spy Fiction. My father served the Intelligence Community for his entire career in DC and abroad, and so I grew up nestled in stacks of le Carre', Deighton, Forsythe, Ludlum, Greene; I cut my reader's teeth on espionage, the language of the genre is deeply embedded in my DNA. There is absolutely nothing in this book that feels cut from that storied cloth. Zero tradecraft (for the absolute best of breed see Red Sparrow, a masterpiece of actual CIA tradecraft); not a hint of the brilliant detective work of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; not even a handful of quirky, memorable characters like the cast of the phenomenal Slough House series (which I cannot recommend more highly). It's stunning how often, and in how many curious ways, RED WIDOW misses its genre mark.
God this book made me angry.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2021
Alma Katsu’s Red Widow is a terrible thriller, with or without the spies. It lacks personality, suspense, complex characters, and a smart plot—basically everything an intelligent reader wants in a novel. Not only is it a one-star book, but I’m awarding it an eye roll score of a million plus. Save your money, save your time and save your brain power (more from being irritated and bored than figuring out the not-so-intense plot) and avoid this book.
Lyndsey Duncan is an agent for the CIA. She’s been recalled from her last assignment for breaking policy and cavorting with a foreign agent (whoopsies!) and is back in Washington D.C. awaiting her punishment. However, Eric Newman, her boss, wants her back at work to ferret out a possible mole inside the CIA Moscow Station. Or Moscow Desk. Moscow something. Anyway, three of their Russian assets recently met unpleasant deaths and Eric suspects one of their own is passing information onto the Moscow. So, despite Lyndsey’s recent bad behavior, she’s essential to this assignment because she’s apparently a human lie detector. Once back in the office, Lyndsey meets Theresa Warner, called the Red Widow due to her husband, Richard, being killed in Russia during a botched operation and the fact that she likes to wear red lipstick. Lyndsey is warned against being too friendly with Theresa and she wonders: why is that? Is it because she’s a widow? Is it because she wears such bright red lipstick? What is it about the Red Widow she should be worried about? By the time Lyndsey figures out all the CIA secrets (secrets you’ve already figured out pages ago), you hope the Russians poison her. And Theresa. And the whole lot of them. Because they’re just too damn boring and dumb to be CIA agents.
I’m going to try to keep this review under a million cranky words because I really have better things to do than critique this dumb-as-rocks book. First, Lyndsey is an idiot. I don’t know why anyone would call her a human lie detector. The things she picks up on are not exactly too difficult to notice. For example: Lyndsey is talking to someone and “He cringes as he backs away. He knows he did something wrong” and “He turns away instead, rubbing the back of his neck. He doesn’t want to face us (285-6). When Lyndsey is doing her amazing human lie detector trick, the reader knows because the author helpfully puts Lyndsey’s analysis in quotes. Of course, you’d think using words like “cringes” and describing a character as turning away from his interviewer would be enough. But nope, not for the dumb reader. And that’s a recurring problem for this novel; the author doesn’t trust her readers to be smart enough to figure anything out for themselves so she’s constantly stepping in to explain things. The book’s perspective is told mostly from Lyndsey’s POV with brief turns for Russian agents and the Red Widow so it’s odd when there is a conversation and this disembodied voice inserts explanations. Who’s giving the explanations? Who are the explanations for? They aren’t needed. This is a conference between agents and one agent says, “They killed him.” If you’re following the conversation, you know who “they” are. But the author thinks you’re a moron and inserts: “He means the FSB” (68). Who’s saying this? Another example a few paragraphs later: “It doesn’t matter, Hank. You know that. Shut it down, all of it. Tell your people”—the assets, Eric means, their Russian spies—“to lie low until we get things under control.” What the fuck with that? As the reader, I know what Eric means. Eric knows what he means. So do all the people in the room. So why the fuck would the author step in—blatantly as the author—and insert this unneeded explanation? Katsu clearly thinks her readers are idiots. I don’t think much of your intellect either, Katsu.
Not only is the book full of these obvious authorial intrusions, but it’s jammed with descriptive filler. So many descriptions of other characters, what they’re wearing, what they look like, their hair styles (you’ll be thrilled to know Red Widow sports an old-fashioned bob that goes well with her chic black dress. However, she unfortunately has a hand that feels like a mouse’s skeleton. Ewww.), Lyndsey’s shopping trip to buy athletic socks (not just any ole socks) and Red Widow’s weepy tale of her husband’s last night at home when he opened a bottle of Yamskaya, his favorite vodka, and poured them both a drink…I mean, jesus. Really? We need to know what his favorite brand of vodka is? If you take out all the descriptive fillers, you’d cut out most of the book. If you cut out all the stupid things Red Widow and Lyndsey say/think, you’d have a 10 paged book.
Neither Lyndsey nor Theresa are believable as CIA operatives. They are both skim milk characters, no depth, no complexity and dumb as rocks. I have no personal attachment to either of them or anyone in the book, particularly Richard Warner, the dead husband. The author says she worked as a CIA analyst or something and I find that difficult to believe because this novel is so dumb. The plot itself is of the most obvious kind (Russia bad, America good) and requires no specialized knowledge of complex geopolitics or even a working knowledge of the CIA. Lyndsey, when reporting to Eric for the first time, is nervous about telling him about her upcoming punishment for boinking a foreign agent. Um, he’s her boss. I bet he knows. Guess, what? He knows. I also love how she wanders around the office blabbing to people she doesn’t know about her top secret “find the CIA mole” assignment and then saying, oh, yeah, let’s keep this conversation between us. I see no evidence that Lyndsey did anything all that special to solve the “who’s the mole?” mystery. She spent a lot of time on the CIA’s version of Facebook (ha, thanks Clay), read a bunch of message threads and postings and then thought, gee, didn’t someone warn me about X? Yup, someone did.
As idiotic as I find Lyndsey, Theresa AKA Red Window is worse. I hated her chapters. First, the omg non-stop weepy/obsessive “I love my fragile special little boy” paragraphs. Yes, we get it. You’re a mother. You love your kid. Move the fuck on.
The plot is stupid. Not only is the whole thing stupid, but after you read chapter 9, all of the tiresome descriptions of Lyndsey’s half-assed sleuthing is redundant. Chapter 9 is from Tarasenko’s POV and in it And now, let me get to what’s gotta be the most head-scratching, what the fuck aspect of this book: the Theresa/Lyndsey friendship.
Theresa and Lyndsey may have known of each other’s existence earlier, but they were never friends or even acquaintances. However, after a few coffees, a few after work cocktails, they are besties. So much so that Lyndsey is
The prose is mediocre. I mean, the sentences are coherent and the author stayed away from misusing big vocabulary words, but it’s unimaginative, flat, boring. She misused the phrase “ivory tower” and it seriously bugs me: “The men in the ivory tower know what he’s done” (309). One, that’s generally an academic reference, as in academics who care only about their scholarship and are far removed from, and have no interest in, everyday life. Second, the men in the ivory tower wouldn’t have known what he did. I mean, that’s the whole fucking point of being in the ivory tower: you can’t be bothered with the actions of the little people on the ground.
Red Widow fucking sucks. It’s not thrilling, the characters are spies by description only, none of them seem intelligent or competent, they’re lifeless two-dimensional words in a badly plotted, unimaginative, time-waster of a novel. If you like spy thrillers, I suggest Le Carré (who I actually haven’t read but has to be better) and an author I remember enjoying from a long ago read: Ride a Pale Horse by Helen MacInnes. Read some nonfiction accounts of spies. Read the owner’s manual that came with your toaster. Anything is more exciting than this novel.
Lyndsey Duncan is an agent for the CIA. She’s been recalled from her last assignment for breaking policy and cavorting with a foreign agent (whoopsies!) and is back in Washington D.C. awaiting her punishment. However, Eric Newman, her boss, wants her back at work to ferret out a possible mole inside the CIA Moscow Station. Or Moscow Desk. Moscow something. Anyway, three of their Russian assets recently met unpleasant deaths and Eric suspects one of their own is passing information onto the Moscow. So, despite Lyndsey’s recent bad behavior, she’s essential to this assignment because she’s apparently a human lie detector. Once back in the office, Lyndsey meets Theresa Warner, called the Red Widow due to her husband, Richard, being killed in Russia during a botched operation and the fact that she likes to wear red lipstick. Lyndsey is warned against being too friendly with Theresa and she wonders: why is that? Is it because she’s a widow? Is it because she wears such bright red lipstick? What is it about the Red Widow she should be worried about? By the time Lyndsey figures out all the CIA secrets (secrets you’ve already figured out pages ago), you hope the Russians poison her. And Theresa. And the whole lot of them. Because they’re just too damn boring and dumb to be CIA agents.
I’m going to try to keep this review under a million cranky words because I really have better things to do than critique this dumb-as-rocks book. First, Lyndsey is an idiot. I don’t know why anyone would call her a human lie detector. The things she picks up on are not exactly too difficult to notice. For example: Lyndsey is talking to someone and “He cringes as he backs away. He knows he did something wrong” and “He turns away instead, rubbing the back of his neck. He doesn’t want to face us (285-6). When Lyndsey is doing her amazing human lie detector trick, the reader knows because the author helpfully puts Lyndsey’s analysis in quotes. Of course, you’d think using words like “cringes” and describing a character as turning away from his interviewer would be enough. But nope, not for the dumb reader. And that’s a recurring problem for this novel; the author doesn’t trust her readers to be smart enough to figure anything out for themselves so she’s constantly stepping in to explain things. The book’s perspective is told mostly from Lyndsey’s POV with brief turns for Russian agents and the Red Widow so it’s odd when there is a conversation and this disembodied voice inserts explanations. Who’s giving the explanations? Who are the explanations for? They aren’t needed. This is a conference between agents and one agent says, “They killed him.” If you’re following the conversation, you know who “they” are. But the author thinks you’re a moron and inserts: “He means the FSB” (68). Who’s saying this? Another example a few paragraphs later: “It doesn’t matter, Hank. You know that. Shut it down, all of it. Tell your people”—the assets, Eric means, their Russian spies—“to lie low until we get things under control.” What the fuck with that? As the reader, I know what Eric means. Eric knows what he means. So do all the people in the room. So why the fuck would the author step in—blatantly as the author—and insert this unneeded explanation? Katsu clearly thinks her readers are idiots. I don’t think much of your intellect either, Katsu.
Not only is the book full of these obvious authorial intrusions, but it’s jammed with descriptive filler. So many descriptions of other characters, what they’re wearing, what they look like, their hair styles (you’ll be thrilled to know Red Widow sports an old-fashioned bob that goes well with her chic black dress. However, she unfortunately has a hand that feels like a mouse’s skeleton. Ewww.), Lyndsey’s shopping trip to buy athletic socks (not just any ole socks) and Red Widow’s weepy tale of her husband’s last night at home when he opened a bottle of Yamskaya, his favorite vodka, and poured them both a drink…I mean, jesus. Really? We need to know what his favorite brand of vodka is? If you take out all the descriptive fillers, you’d cut out most of the book. If you cut out all the stupid things Red Widow and Lyndsey say/think, you’d have a 10 paged book.
Neither Lyndsey nor Theresa are believable as CIA operatives. They are both skim milk characters, no depth, no complexity and dumb as rocks. I have no personal attachment to either of them or anyone in the book, particularly Richard Warner, the dead husband. The author says she worked as a CIA analyst or something and I find that difficult to believe because this novel is so dumb. The plot itself is of the most obvious kind (Russia bad, America good) and requires no specialized knowledge of complex geopolitics or even a working knowledge of the CIA. Lyndsey, when reporting to Eric for the first time, is nervous about telling him about her upcoming punishment for boinking a foreign agent. Um, he’s her boss. I bet he knows. Guess, what? He knows. I also love how she wanders around the office blabbing to people she doesn’t know about her top secret “find the CIA mole” assignment and then saying, oh, yeah, let’s keep this conversation between us. I see no evidence that Lyndsey did anything all that special to solve the “who’s the mole?” mystery. She spent a lot of time on the CIA’s version of Facebook (ha, thanks Clay), read a bunch of message threads and postings and then thought, gee, didn’t someone warn me about X? Yup, someone did.
As idiotic as I find Lyndsey, Theresa AKA Red Window is worse. I hated her chapters. First, the omg non-stop weepy/obsessive “I love my fragile special little boy” paragraphs. Yes, we get it. You’re a mother. You love your kid. Move the fuck on.
The plot is stupid. Not only is the whole thing stupid, but after you read chapter 9, all of the tiresome descriptions of Lyndsey’s half-assed sleuthing is redundant. Chapter 9 is from Tarasenko’s POV and in it And now, let me get to what’s gotta be the most head-scratching, what the fuck aspect of this book: the Theresa/Lyndsey friendship.
Theresa and Lyndsey may have known of each other’s existence earlier, but they were never friends or even acquaintances. However, after a few coffees, a few after work cocktails, they are besties. So much so that Lyndsey is
The prose is mediocre. I mean, the sentences are coherent and the author stayed away from misusing big vocabulary words, but it’s unimaginative, flat, boring. She misused the phrase “ivory tower” and it seriously bugs me: “The men in the ivory tower know what he’s done” (309). One, that’s generally an academic reference, as in academics who care only about their scholarship and are far removed from, and have no interest in, everyday life. Second, the men in the ivory tower wouldn’t have known what he did. I mean, that’s the whole fucking point of being in the ivory tower: you can’t be bothered with the actions of the little people on the ground.
Red Widow fucking sucks. It’s not thrilling, the characters are spies by description only, none of them seem intelligent or competent, they’re lifeless two-dimensional words in a badly plotted, unimaginative, time-waster of a novel. If you like spy thrillers, I suggest Le Carré (who I actually haven’t read but has to be better) and an author I remember enjoying from a long ago read: Ride a Pale Horse by Helen MacInnes. Read some nonfiction accounts of spies. Read the owner’s manual that came with your toaster. Anything is more exciting than this novel.
Want to read
April 19, 2021thanks to my good friend Dai who recommended me this book, and she knows that i'm a sucker for russian culture and for the spy thriller, yup!
June 14, 2021
An excellent, suspenseful spy thriller written with an insider's expertise.
I appreciate this book's recommendation from fellow thriller author Joseph Finder.
Highly recommended.
I appreciate this book's recommendation from fellow thriller author Joseph Finder.
Highly recommended.
June 7, 2021
Red Widow is a page turning, fast-paced spy thriller, written by a former CIA and NSA agent.
The authors detailed descriptions of the inner workings of the CIA are fascinating.
Interesting characters and a plot with twists and turns throughout make this novel an enjoyable read.
The authors detailed descriptions of the inner workings of the CIA are fascinating.
Interesting characters and a plot with twists and turns throughout make this novel an enjoyable read.
Want to read
February 8, 2022If Alma Katsu writes it, I want to read it.
March 20, 2021
This one was a little slow. There are some big moments where the plot really ramps up and you're frantically turning pages, but most of the book feels like the insider threat awareness seminars and training that all government employees and contractors have to undergo and renew annually. Like, every step of the way I felt like I had a checklist in my brain like "did they look for this? What are the office policies on that?" I think my familiarity with that took some of the intrigue out of the story.
Also there's a lot of narrative distance between our characters and the consequences. You have people dying in Russia but the playmakers are sitting at their desks pushing paper around in Virginia. Plus it felt like there were a lot of random threads left hanging - perhaps the promise of another book but more likely just not seen as important to the overall resolution.
My biggest issue was with pacing though. Apart from our insider threat awareness seminar, the big plot points and moments of tension are really spread out. The first big reveal comes at like 30% and that carries some momentum for a little while, but then you have to wait for things to kick into high gear - around 70% (which carries us easily through the end). But with a slow start and a stagnant middle, a reader may put the book down and not give it the chance it deserves.
{I received a DRC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review; all thoughts are my own}
Also there's a lot of narrative distance between our characters and the consequences. You have people dying in Russia but the playmakers are sitting at their desks pushing paper around in Virginia. Plus it felt like there were a lot of random threads left hanging - perhaps the promise of another book but more likely just not seen as important to the overall resolution.
My biggest issue was with pacing though. Apart from our insider threat awareness seminar, the big plot points and moments of tension are really spread out. The first big reveal comes at like 30% and that carries some momentum for a little while, but then you have to wait for things to kick into high gear - around 70% (which carries us easily through the end). But with a slow start and a stagnant middle, a reader may put the book down and not give it the chance it deserves.
{I received a DRC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review; all thoughts are my own}
December 23, 2020
I'm a big fan of Alma Katsu! This is sure different from her other books, The Taker series, The Hunger, The Deep; and I think that Red Widow is a hit!
This book is all espionage and Russian spies. Who do you trust when everyone's lives are on the line? There are a lot of twists and turns and I "knew" who the double/triple/quadruple agent was in every single chapter. I really didn't, but it was sure a lot of fun thinking that I knew who did what.
I have no idea if Ms Katsu is going to make this into a series, but I sure think that the possibilities for Lyndsey are endless!
Many thanks to Netgalley and GP Putnam's Sons for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release in March 2021.
This book is all espionage and Russian spies. Who do you trust when everyone's lives are on the line? There are a lot of twists and turns and I "knew" who the double/triple/quadruple agent was in every single chapter. I really didn't, but it was sure a lot of fun thinking that I knew who did what.
I have no idea if Ms Katsu is going to make this into a series, but I sure think that the possibilities for Lyndsey are endless!
Many thanks to Netgalley and GP Putnam's Sons for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release in March 2021.
January 31, 2023
Не съм фен на шпионските трилъри, но този ми допадна.
Да, романът е клиширан, на моменти наивен , но задържа интереса и ми беше приятно да го прочета.
Да, романът е клиширан, на моменти наивен , но задържа интереса и ми беше приятно да го прочета.
July 6, 2021
2.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2021/07/01/...
Red Widow is my third novel by Alma Katsu, and the first one that’s not a historical or supernatural horror. This book wasn’t all terrible, I suppose, but as a spy thriller, I thought it fell completely flat on its face. I also got the sense that maybe the author was in way over her head when it came to the genre or subject.
The story opens with an intriguing scene. On a flight from Moscow to the United States, a passenger suddenly falls ill and dies, despite the best efforts of the flight crew to save his life. And in a bedroom in Washington DC, a CIA operative named Lyndsey Duncan wakes up in the middle of the night to a phone call telling her to report to headquarters in Langley first thing in the morning. Having just been recalled from a mission in Lebanon for breaking some serious protocols, Lyndsey believes this means she is being dismissed from her position. However, she soon finds out that the meeting is to be with her old boss Eric Newman, and instead of firing her, he gives her a new assignment.
As it turns out, the man who died on the flight enroute from Moscow had been an important Russian asset, someone who was very close to Lyndsey from when she had been his handler back when she worked in Russian Division. Eric suspects that the spy had found out his identity was compromised, and was in the process of fleeing when his enemies caught up to him and poisoned him. In recent weeks, many of the CIA’s assets in Russia had been exposed, and Eric fears they may have someone on the inside giving away their secrets. Thus Lyndsey, with her reputation for being a human lie detector, became his first choice to flush out the mole.
Still reeling from her change of fortune, Lyndsey moves back into Russian Division, ready to get to work. She is reacquainted with some of her old colleagues, including Theresa Warner, known around the office as the Red Widow due to the death of her husband Richard, a highly ranked and CIA agent who was killed in an operation in Russia a few years back. The “Red” in her sobriquet refers to the color of her bright lipstick, and the fact that she still keeps her late husband’s blazing red Jaguar in his old parking spot, almost as a message to everyone to remind them of what she has lost. Now raising her young son alone, Theresa has a lot of anger towards the higher ups in the agency, whom she blames for failing Richard. Lyndsey is warned not to get too close to her, lest she catch any of the blowback.
Still, Lyndsey can’t help but be drawn to the widow, and soon, the two of them form a special kind of connection. But when Theresa gets some shocking news, reigniting her conflict with the CIA, Lydnsey will have to decide what to do about their friendship and how to proceed with the information she has learned.
This novel left me highly conflicted, because I usually enjoy Alma Katsu’s storytelling and think she writes great characters. Problem is, the entire premise of this book felt impractical and hardly convincing. Despite Red Widow being marketed as a spy thriller, in truth, there’s not much in the way of mystery, espionage, or even thrills in this. The story also feels as if it’s written by someone with a very shallow or naïve understanding of how spycraft actually works. So many things seem unrealistic or they just don’t add up. Neither Lyndsey or Theresa are believable as CIA. The mood around their headquarters also feels a lot like high school full of gossipy women and supervisors who sleep with their underlings. Everyone seems to go around just casually discussing classified information, with the excuse being, “Oh, we all have the same level of security clearance around here anyway” which is really not how that works, not to mention, ahem, YOU ARE TRYING TO HUNT A MOLE, LYNDSEY. Maybe try to show a little discretion?
Then there’s Theresa, who when we first meet her is this intimidating woman with a commanding presence. Her nickname is the Red Widow, for God’s sake. Sadly, that picture is quickly shattered long with any of my initial respect for her when it is soon revealed just how dumb she is. Though to be fair, she’s probably no dumber than most of the other characters in this book, none of whom seem to know anything about what real spying entails. Those elements come across as very rudimentary and paper-thin, and Lyndsey, for all that she is being touted as this amazing human lie detector, hardly uses any of her skills or does any real operative work to find the mole. The story is quite predictable on that front, because there’s really no finessing of the plot at all when the main character contributes nothing to solving the mystery and you are pretty much handed all the answers on a silver platter.
Ultimately, as much as I’ve enjoyed some of Katsu’s previous novels, I just can’t recommend this. If you’re looking for some light entertainment, I guess it’s all right, but if you have even the slightest experience with spy fiction, I think the story behind Red Widow is going to feel really half-baked and flimsy. Admittedly I’m no a big reader of this subgenre, but I still came away feeling frustrated and disappointed. That said, I’ll still happily follow the author’s future work and pick up her books, but yeah…probably not if it’s another spy thriller.
Red Widow is my third novel by Alma Katsu, and the first one that’s not a historical or supernatural horror. This book wasn’t all terrible, I suppose, but as a spy thriller, I thought it fell completely flat on its face. I also got the sense that maybe the author was in way over her head when it came to the genre or subject.
The story opens with an intriguing scene. On a flight from Moscow to the United States, a passenger suddenly falls ill and dies, despite the best efforts of the flight crew to save his life. And in a bedroom in Washington DC, a CIA operative named Lyndsey Duncan wakes up in the middle of the night to a phone call telling her to report to headquarters in Langley first thing in the morning. Having just been recalled from a mission in Lebanon for breaking some serious protocols, Lyndsey believes this means she is being dismissed from her position. However, she soon finds out that the meeting is to be with her old boss Eric Newman, and instead of firing her, he gives her a new assignment.
As it turns out, the man who died on the flight enroute from Moscow had been an important Russian asset, someone who was very close to Lyndsey from when she had been his handler back when she worked in Russian Division. Eric suspects that the spy had found out his identity was compromised, and was in the process of fleeing when his enemies caught up to him and poisoned him. In recent weeks, many of the CIA’s assets in Russia had been exposed, and Eric fears they may have someone on the inside giving away their secrets. Thus Lyndsey, with her reputation for being a human lie detector, became his first choice to flush out the mole.
Still reeling from her change of fortune, Lyndsey moves back into Russian Division, ready to get to work. She is reacquainted with some of her old colleagues, including Theresa Warner, known around the office as the Red Widow due to the death of her husband Richard, a highly ranked and CIA agent who was killed in an operation in Russia a few years back. The “Red” in her sobriquet refers to the color of her bright lipstick, and the fact that she still keeps her late husband’s blazing red Jaguar in his old parking spot, almost as a message to everyone to remind them of what she has lost. Now raising her young son alone, Theresa has a lot of anger towards the higher ups in the agency, whom she blames for failing Richard. Lyndsey is warned not to get too close to her, lest she catch any of the blowback.
Still, Lyndsey can’t help but be drawn to the widow, and soon, the two of them form a special kind of connection. But when Theresa gets some shocking news, reigniting her conflict with the CIA, Lydnsey will have to decide what to do about their friendship and how to proceed with the information she has learned.
This novel left me highly conflicted, because I usually enjoy Alma Katsu’s storytelling and think she writes great characters. Problem is, the entire premise of this book felt impractical and hardly convincing. Despite Red Widow being marketed as a spy thriller, in truth, there’s not much in the way of mystery, espionage, or even thrills in this. The story also feels as if it’s written by someone with a very shallow or naïve understanding of how spycraft actually works. So many things seem unrealistic or they just don’t add up. Neither Lyndsey or Theresa are believable as CIA. The mood around their headquarters also feels a lot like high school full of gossipy women and supervisors who sleep with their underlings. Everyone seems to go around just casually discussing classified information, with the excuse being, “Oh, we all have the same level of security clearance around here anyway” which is really not how that works, not to mention, ahem, YOU ARE TRYING TO HUNT A MOLE, LYNDSEY. Maybe try to show a little discretion?
Then there’s Theresa, who when we first meet her is this intimidating woman with a commanding presence. Her nickname is the Red Widow, for God’s sake. Sadly, that picture is quickly shattered long with any of my initial respect for her when it is soon revealed just how dumb she is. Though to be fair, she’s probably no dumber than most of the other characters in this book, none of whom seem to know anything about what real spying entails. Those elements come across as very rudimentary and paper-thin, and Lyndsey, for all that she is being touted as this amazing human lie detector, hardly uses any of her skills or does any real operative work to find the mole. The story is quite predictable on that front, because there’s really no finessing of the plot at all when the main character contributes nothing to solving the mystery and you are pretty much handed all the answers on a silver platter.
Ultimately, as much as I’ve enjoyed some of Katsu’s previous novels, I just can’t recommend this. If you’re looking for some light entertainment, I guess it’s all right, but if you have even the slightest experience with spy fiction, I think the story behind Red Widow is going to feel really half-baked and flimsy. Admittedly I’m no a big reader of this subgenre, but I still came away feeling frustrated and disappointed. That said, I’ll still happily follow the author’s future work and pick up her books, but yeah…probably not if it’s another spy thriller.
December 4, 2021
2.5 stars.
It wasn't the worst, but the pacing was slow and the MC was frustrating. I've never read a character who claimed to be confident and yet worried and fretted so much. Girl you're supposed to be a badass spook, have some faith.
Could have been good but boy did it drag in places. Overall can't complain. Russians being the bad guys is classic, be nice if it was the other way around for once.
It wasn't the worst, but the pacing was slow and the MC was frustrating. I've never read a character who claimed to be confident and yet worried and fretted so much. Girl you're supposed to be a badass spook, have some faith.
Could have been good but boy did it drag in places. Overall can't complain. Russians being the bad guys is classic, be nice if it was the other way around for once.
Read
March 29, 2021I’m a on a roll of terrific thrillers. This one is SO GOOD! Highly, highly recommend. Probably will be one of my favorites for the year. Definitely one of my favorites reads this month.
April 5, 2021
When it comes to espionage novels, there are three types that complement the genre: those that are fun to read but not detailed enough that some curious minds might want to experience; those whose authors have had a stellar career serving in the intelligence community but are a little stiff with their storytelling, so you get a fully detailed work that reads like an espionage textbook; and those that perfectly blend the two styles. Fortunately, RED WIDOW falls into the third category.
Alma Katsu has enjoyed enormous success with back-to-back horror novels, THE HUNGER and THE DEEP, but slips into the espionage genre so easily with her latest effort. My surprise quickly turned to awe and respect when I learned of her background in the intelligence community, which included 35 years as an intelligence analyst for agencies like the FBI, NSA and global think tank RAND. Quite simply, she knows her stuff and already has proven that she can write an engaging thriller.
An overweight gentleman is clearly showing discomfort during a flight to Washington, D.C. After intervention by flight attendants, pilots and eventually EMTs, he succumbs to whatever condition he was suffering from. We quickly learn that this was no ordinary passenger; the deceased is Yaromir Popov, a member of Russian intelligence for 30 years and a double agent for the U.S. Despite being on administrative leave, Lyndsey Duncan is awakened by a late-night phone call from her division head, Eric Newman, who needs her to come back to the office at once. As soon as she arrives, he informs her that the foreign agent she had once turned to and considered a father figure has passed away suddenly.
It is now Lyndsey’s assignment to rejoin the Russian Division of the CIA and find out what happened. If foul play was involved, the CIA would need to know if the Russians were behind it or if a mole is within their ranks. Theresa Warner is one of the first colleagues to welcome her as she settles into her extremely small office. Lyndsey is later informed that Theresa has been given the nickname “Red Widow,” not only because she loves the color red, but because she is still mourning the loss of her CIA director husband, Richard.
Lyndsey is briefed by a small group of CIA leaders that her role is to ferret out the potential mole in their own backyard by taking a hard look at each of her colleagues. It’s not long before she learns of the untimely death of Popov’s teenage daughter, who she also knew, from an alleged drug overdose. As Lyndsey looks further into Popov, she finds an email he sent her just days prior to his death where he expresses his desire to talk to her. Guilt overwhelms her and drives her forward to avenge his death.
Toxicology reports indicate that there was nothing suspicious in Popov’s system, but the hint of a certain chemical might show that he was killed by someone who knew how to hide the fact that he was drugged. The body count continues to rise when Kulakov, another Russian agent with whom they worked, is found dead. Newman now knows that this is an all-out attack on the CIA’s Russian Division, and Lyndsey must step it up before more allies fall.
Lyndsey is also warned off by someone in the office about befriending the “Red Widow” as she is not to be trusted. She does not initially take this advice to heart as she finds Theresa to be genuine and even spends time with her and her young son outside of the agency. She needs a friend as a rumor has spread about her having had an illicit affair while she was on assignment in Beirut prior to her home leave. Lyndsey understands that this was only planted in order to deflect her from the goals of the mission she has been given, but it still hurts. She also meets up with the most recent “handler” of Popov, an agent named Tom Cassidy; although she does not feel that he is a threat, she cannot completely rule him out.
As Lyndsey’s mission converges with Theresa’s own agenda, which primarily includes finding her missing husband, the situation will get quite muddled. The reader’s head will be spinning, along with Lyndsey’s, as there is a web of deceit so well-spun that it may be impossible to untangle without herself falling victim to those who spun it. The plot never allows you to catch your breath as the wheels keep turning with every new piece of information uncovered, and nothing is as it appears to be.
Reviewed by Ray Palen
Alma Katsu has enjoyed enormous success with back-to-back horror novels, THE HUNGER and THE DEEP, but slips into the espionage genre so easily with her latest effort. My surprise quickly turned to awe and respect when I learned of her background in the intelligence community, which included 35 years as an intelligence analyst for agencies like the FBI, NSA and global think tank RAND. Quite simply, she knows her stuff and already has proven that she can write an engaging thriller.
An overweight gentleman is clearly showing discomfort during a flight to Washington, D.C. After intervention by flight attendants, pilots and eventually EMTs, he succumbs to whatever condition he was suffering from. We quickly learn that this was no ordinary passenger; the deceased is Yaromir Popov, a member of Russian intelligence for 30 years and a double agent for the U.S. Despite being on administrative leave, Lyndsey Duncan is awakened by a late-night phone call from her division head, Eric Newman, who needs her to come back to the office at once. As soon as she arrives, he informs her that the foreign agent she had once turned to and considered a father figure has passed away suddenly.
It is now Lyndsey’s assignment to rejoin the Russian Division of the CIA and find out what happened. If foul play was involved, the CIA would need to know if the Russians were behind it or if a mole is within their ranks. Theresa Warner is one of the first colleagues to welcome her as she settles into her extremely small office. Lyndsey is later informed that Theresa has been given the nickname “Red Widow,” not only because she loves the color red, but because she is still mourning the loss of her CIA director husband, Richard.
Lyndsey is briefed by a small group of CIA leaders that her role is to ferret out the potential mole in their own backyard by taking a hard look at each of her colleagues. It’s not long before she learns of the untimely death of Popov’s teenage daughter, who she also knew, from an alleged drug overdose. As Lyndsey looks further into Popov, she finds an email he sent her just days prior to his death where he expresses his desire to talk to her. Guilt overwhelms her and drives her forward to avenge his death.
Toxicology reports indicate that there was nothing suspicious in Popov’s system, but the hint of a certain chemical might show that he was killed by someone who knew how to hide the fact that he was drugged. The body count continues to rise when Kulakov, another Russian agent with whom they worked, is found dead. Newman now knows that this is an all-out attack on the CIA’s Russian Division, and Lyndsey must step it up before more allies fall.
Lyndsey is also warned off by someone in the office about befriending the “Red Widow” as she is not to be trusted. She does not initially take this advice to heart as she finds Theresa to be genuine and even spends time with her and her young son outside of the agency. She needs a friend as a rumor has spread about her having had an illicit affair while she was on assignment in Beirut prior to her home leave. Lyndsey understands that this was only planted in order to deflect her from the goals of the mission she has been given, but it still hurts. She also meets up with the most recent “handler” of Popov, an agent named Tom Cassidy; although she does not feel that he is a threat, she cannot completely rule him out.
As Lyndsey’s mission converges with Theresa’s own agenda, which primarily includes finding her missing husband, the situation will get quite muddled. The reader’s head will be spinning, along with Lyndsey’s, as there is a web of deceit so well-spun that it may be impossible to untangle without herself falling victim to those who spun it. The plot never allows you to catch your breath as the wheels keep turning with every new piece of information uncovered, and nothing is as it appears to be.
Reviewed by Ray Palen
March 29, 2021
I am a bit wary of reading a book that has a protagonist who works for a clandestine agency of a powerful nation. Especially if the book is set in current times. "Red Widow" is all of those things. But surprisingly enough, it worked for me.
Alma Katsu has drawn on her own experience of working for various intelligence agencies in the US and has written a novel which, at least according to me, is better than anything that has been written in the last decade.
Most of the times, authors of this kind of books commit an inexcusable crime of doing an info-dump on a reader to show how much they know about spies and their craft and the inner workings of all the intelligence agencies around the world. As a result, the story takes a backstage, and it becomes a plodding experience for a reader to get through the book. Also, the agency where the protagonist works is usually filled with goody-two-shoes, while the other side is shown as totally evil. Hi, "Red Sparrow"!
Thankfully, Red Widow avoids all these things.
Alma Katsu has done such an amazing job of balancing both - showing her knowledge of spycraft to us and the story itself - that it feels seamless.
A CIA agent is told to conduct an investigation to catch a mole in the CIA who seems to be working for the Russians. That's all you need to know before going in, really.
I bet this book will surprise a lot of readers who might have expected the author to write another novel in the genre she is known for: horror. That reminds me, I still haven't read "The Hunger". I am moving it up on my reading pile.
May 15, 2021
I was in the mood for a spy thriller and picked this up. Turns out it's a really good one. Author Alma Katsu had a 35 year career in U.S. Intelligence at various agencies. That depth of experience comes through in the authenticity and easy authority with which she writes on the often complex organizational politics at play. The plotting is fast-paced and crafty and the characters are well drawn. If there's a sequel in the works I'm there.
December 4, 2020
I've been a fan of Alma Katsu's work since I devoured The Hunger last year, and when I saw her latest novel announced on Twitter, I knew I had to request it. I was thrilled to be approved and quickly dove in.
Still waiting the outcome of her career following her dismissal from Beirut, CIA agent Lyndsey Duncan is recruited by her former colleague and Chief of the Russia Division for a special investigation. Three informants are dead, and it's looking more likely that there's a mole in-house. Lyndsey agrees to lead the search, not knowing that the lines of trust are fickle, and motives aren't always as cut-and-dry as they appear to be.
I really enjoyed this book.
First, as a protagonist, Lyndsey was dynamic and engaging. We get the mystery surrounding her dismissal, her obvious expertise in the field, and the rationale behind her approach to the investigation. We also get her budding friendship with Theresa, The Widow, and I found the moments that she debates where she should draw her personal boundaries to be both endearing and tense. At a certain point, we know what's happening behind the scenes, and watching Lyndsey's discovery process unravel the intrigue was that much more successful because Katsu's clever structuring.
The plot is engrossing, an intricate web of deception that will leave you guessing until the very last page. I also think Katsu could have a successful series lead in the making, as I would definitely read the next installment of a Lyndsey Duncan narrative.
I will say that this is more of a quiet thriller despite the action-packed lineup. Murders, poison, CIA, espionage--most of the in-your-face action happens off-scene, in a sense, and what we get is largely the intelligent mind-picking that follows. That's not to say this is a dry read--I think this will appeal to many readers in the vein of 24 or Homeland--but I'd expect more of a thinker-thriller than a constant string of explosions.
Overall, Red Widow is captivating, smart, and fascinating, a study in loyalty, morality, ethics, and the lengths people will go to save the ones they love. Out in March, I can't wait for this one to hit the shelves.
Big thanks to Putnam and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.
Still waiting the outcome of her career following her dismissal from Beirut, CIA agent Lyndsey Duncan is recruited by her former colleague and Chief of the Russia Division for a special investigation. Three informants are dead, and it's looking more likely that there's a mole in-house. Lyndsey agrees to lead the search, not knowing that the lines of trust are fickle, and motives aren't always as cut-and-dry as they appear to be.
I really enjoyed this book.
First, as a protagonist, Lyndsey was dynamic and engaging. We get the mystery surrounding her dismissal, her obvious expertise in the field, and the rationale behind her approach to the investigation. We also get her budding friendship with Theresa, The Widow, and I found the moments that she debates where she should draw her personal boundaries to be both endearing and tense. At a certain point, we know what's happening behind the scenes, and watching Lyndsey's discovery process unravel the intrigue was that much more successful because Katsu's clever structuring.
The plot is engrossing, an intricate web of deception that will leave you guessing until the very last page. I also think Katsu could have a successful series lead in the making, as I would definitely read the next installment of a Lyndsey Duncan narrative.
I will say that this is more of a quiet thriller despite the action-packed lineup. Murders, poison, CIA, espionage--most of the in-your-face action happens off-scene, in a sense, and what we get is largely the intelligent mind-picking that follows. That's not to say this is a dry read--I think this will appeal to many readers in the vein of 24 or Homeland--but I'd expect more of a thinker-thriller than a constant string of explosions.
Overall, Red Widow is captivating, smart, and fascinating, a study in loyalty, morality, ethics, and the lengths people will go to save the ones they love. Out in March, I can't wait for this one to hit the shelves.
Big thanks to Putnam and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.
June 3, 2021
this was 'meh' - a fast read. There just wasn't enough suspense or twists to make it a good spy thriller. I expected the main character to be whip smart - but Lyndsey; who is often called a 'human lie detector' doesn't really figure anything out -and never figures out whose lying. To the reader, Theresa is the most obvious mole. Even without knowing her full back story it would seem to me that when looking for a mole one motive might be anyone's whose lost a loved one in service.
I always like to read the blurbs on the book cover -sometimes it's what they don't say that is most interesting...like this one...."Red Widow is a spy thriller that shines with authenticity and heart" - nothing about the plot or characters..:)
This is the second book I've read by this author - The first was a supernatural thriller and I had almost the same reaction 'meh' - they both occupied my time but that's all I can say about them. In a few months I won't even remember this story. I probably won't seek out another.
I always like to read the blurbs on the book cover -sometimes it's what they don't say that is most interesting...like this one...."Red Widow is a spy thriller that shines with authenticity and heart" - nothing about the plot or characters..:)
This is the second book I've read by this author - The first was a supernatural thriller and I had almost the same reaction 'meh' - they both occupied my time but that's all I can say about them. In a few months I won't even remember this story. I probably won't seek out another.
April 3, 2022
An excellent spy thriller as could only be told by someone with a lifetime experience in the CIA.
I'd say it's not a standard thriller, with shootouts and explosions, but more of an investigative mystery that manages to keep the tension taut (and building) with every page.
Look forward to future books in the series. A definite high recommend for anyone who loves a good spy story with strong, relatable (and often flawed) characters.
I'd say it's not a standard thriller, with shootouts and explosions, but more of an investigative mystery that manages to keep the tension taut (and building) with every page.
Look forward to future books in the series. A definite high recommend for anyone who loves a good spy story with strong, relatable (and often flawed) characters.
January 1, 2021
Any book by Alma Katsu is an absolute treat. She can write in any genre and deliver the goods!
December 28, 2021
RED WIDOW
Alma Katsu
WOW... so glad that I read this. I love extremely straightforward writing with a goal and purpose quite evident. This is it! It just does not get any more concise than this.
This thing is very quick, the action is fast-paced and I was turning pages as fast as I could. I appreciated that, unlike most spy novels, the main characters were women and very competent.
High recommendations here
5 stars
Happy Reading!
Alma Katsu
WOW... so glad that I read this. I love extremely straightforward writing with a goal and purpose quite evident. This is it! It just does not get any more concise than this.
This thing is very quick, the action is fast-paced and I was turning pages as fast as I could. I appreciated that, unlike most spy novels, the main characters were women and very competent.
High recommendations here
5 stars
Happy Reading!
March 18, 2021
Alma Katsu typically writes horror novels, so imagine my surprise when I find out that her latest novel, Red Widow, is a spy thriller. Not only that but she used her 35 years as a spy/analyst in the CIA as fodder. With that type of experience, I had high hopes for this look at modern-day spycraft. Unfortunately, much like her last horror novel, I found Red Widow a bit of a slog.
I imagine that some of my disappointment with Red Widow stems from the fact that I pretty much guessed the plot a quarter of the way in. This meant that there was nothing about it that was a surprise, which is not exactly what you want when you are reading a spy novel. I mean, spying is all about keeping secrets and things not being what they seem. I don’t want the secrets too easy to discern.
Also, I find it rather frustrating that Russia remains the Big Bad Enemy in the spy world. I mean, sure, Putin is an evil man who essentially brought Russia back being ruled by a Tzar, but is he really the biggest threat the country faces? I struggle with this. Yes, there is some mention of China and cyber warfare in general, but the focus of Red Widow is strictly Russia and Russian double agents. It all feels more 1980s and not at all present day.
Plus the grey line between “right” and “wrong” is so very flexible depending on the situation and the people involved. One situation involving an agent may be morally reprehensible and forbidden by the powers that be, and yet the very same situation involving a different agent will see that agent receiving accolades for that same action. I get that the world of spying changes every minute of every day based on new information, but holy hell. At least pick a moral yardstick and consistently use it.
For what it is worth, Lyndsey is pretty tough as an agent. She has the thick skin necessary for working in a male-dominated workplace. Plus, she has the smarts to go toe-to-toe with any of her fellow analysts. She does a lot of hand-wringing about her previous assignment and how she left it, which is annoying. When she focuses on the task assigned to her, the story picks up speed and interest. Unfortunately, she spends as much time focused on the task as she does on her long-term situation.
Red Widow surprised me in the rather negative image of the CIA Ms. Katsu paints. She makes a point to emphasize the hypocrisy of its leaders, the ongoing silos in which the analysts continue to work, and the continuous power struggles among the analysts as they use their access to information to get ahead of their counterparts. She also mocks the CIA’s inability to play by its own rules. I wasn’t expecting this at all given her experience.
This is the fourth Katsu novel I have read, and I will admit to only liking two of them. The most recent of her novels left me disappointed because they were missing the magic of her previous novels. Red Widow takes it one step further by being predictable and tired in its rehashing of the Russia/US enmity that made up every spy novel from the 1970s and 80s…and 90s. Perhaps my expectations were too high for someone with thirty-plus years of experience working at the CIA herself, but Red Widow is not at all what I expected or wanted in a modern-day spycraft novel.
I imagine that some of my disappointment with Red Widow stems from the fact that I pretty much guessed the plot a quarter of the way in. This meant that there was nothing about it that was a surprise, which is not exactly what you want when you are reading a spy novel. I mean, spying is all about keeping secrets and things not being what they seem. I don’t want the secrets too easy to discern.
Also, I find it rather frustrating that Russia remains the Big Bad Enemy in the spy world. I mean, sure, Putin is an evil man who essentially brought Russia back being ruled by a Tzar, but is he really the biggest threat the country faces? I struggle with this. Yes, there is some mention of China and cyber warfare in general, but the focus of Red Widow is strictly Russia and Russian double agents. It all feels more 1980s and not at all present day.
Plus the grey line between “right” and “wrong” is so very flexible depending on the situation and the people involved. One situation involving an agent may be morally reprehensible and forbidden by the powers that be, and yet the very same situation involving a different agent will see that agent receiving accolades for that same action. I get that the world of spying changes every minute of every day based on new information, but holy hell. At least pick a moral yardstick and consistently use it.
For what it is worth, Lyndsey is pretty tough as an agent. She has the thick skin necessary for working in a male-dominated workplace. Plus, she has the smarts to go toe-to-toe with any of her fellow analysts. She does a lot of hand-wringing about her previous assignment and how she left it, which is annoying. When she focuses on the task assigned to her, the story picks up speed and interest. Unfortunately, she spends as much time focused on the task as she does on her long-term situation.
Red Widow surprised me in the rather negative image of the CIA Ms. Katsu paints. She makes a point to emphasize the hypocrisy of its leaders, the ongoing silos in which the analysts continue to work, and the continuous power struggles among the analysts as they use their access to information to get ahead of their counterparts. She also mocks the CIA’s inability to play by its own rules. I wasn’t expecting this at all given her experience.
This is the fourth Katsu novel I have read, and I will admit to only liking two of them. The most recent of her novels left me disappointed because they were missing the magic of her previous novels. Red Widow takes it one step further by being predictable and tired in its rehashing of the Russia/US enmity that made up every spy novel from the 1970s and 80s…and 90s. Perhaps my expectations were too high for someone with thirty-plus years of experience working at the CIA herself, but Red Widow is not at all what I expected or wanted in a modern-day spycraft novel.
May 23, 2021
The book is about two female CIA officers. Both of them are hard working, intelligent and smart. Both of them have been portrayed as highly skilled in their fields. But the author didn't go justice to these qualities. I felt like these women were doing nothing in the whole story.
I am a bit disappointed. The book contained no new element, no character development and nothing enhancing the plot. From the chapter 1 to 15, only one thing was repeated and too vaguely. So I couldn't understand as to what was the actual point and if there was a point, it shouldn't take 15 chapters! I like details - concise details. From chapter 16 onward, things change but it's like justification and not story building. In the last 4 or so chapters, there is something to read. Even if you jumped there directly, one could perfectly understand everything.
I would give 1 star but I added another one because of the reunion scene at the end. There the human emotions are actually described in a proper way.
I am a bit disappointed. The book contained no new element, no character development and nothing enhancing the plot. From the chapter 1 to 15, only one thing was repeated and too vaguely. So I couldn't understand as to what was the actual point and if there was a point, it shouldn't take 15 chapters! I like details - concise details. From chapter 16 onward, things change but it's like justification and not story building. In the last 4 or so chapters, there is something to read. Even if you jumped there directly, one could perfectly understand everything.
I would give 1 star but I added another one because of the reunion scene at the end. There the human emotions are actually described in a proper way.
June 9, 2021
Really enjoyed this book, it felt timely & very immediate. I particularly liked the 2 female protagonists. The story had a “ripped from the headlines” feel with the veracity of someone who was in the middle of the headlines being made. Lyndsey and Theresa are well-written as characters, I cared about them and their situations. I worked on the Naval Security Station while serving as an officer, and going through security, opening safes, dealing with classified material everyday felt very familiar. The Russia side of the story felt right, and hope the author carries on with the story of Lyndsey and her new intelligence asset. Not quite to the level of my beloved George Smiley, but well worth reading and highly recommended.
April 3, 2021
The review for this book was good. Unfortunately, the book was not. While the plot is intriguing and layered, the writing is anything but.
Some 100 pages into the book, things should happen. Conversation and thoughts should be supported by events that move the narrative in a positive direction. Unfortunately that is not the case with this book and it’s author. Unfortunately what purported to be a spy thriller was a boring story going nowhere very slowly.
Some 100 pages into the book, things should happen. Conversation and thoughts should be supported by events that move the narrative in a positive direction. Unfortunately that is not the case with this book and it’s author. Unfortunately what purported to be a spy thriller was a boring story going nowhere very slowly.
April 13, 2021
Fantastic spy thriller. The writing is wonderful, the pacing is fast and exciting, the characters are super interesting. I loved the double-crossing, triple-crossing, whose side are you on anyway nature to this. I also appreciated the focus on women spies--refreshing and fascinating. I really hope there will be a sequel! Also excited for the TV series! A+
March 31, 2022
Fun on audio,spy fiction, especially relevant with everything going on in Russia
January 30, 2024
Gripping spy thriller, especially all the lethal, backstabbing internal politics in this fictional Russia division of the CIA (and especially knowing Katsu is a former CIA intelligence officer!).
March 26, 2021
*Source* Publisher
*Genre* Thrillers / Espionage / Suspense
*Rating* 3.5
*Thoughts*
Alma Katsu's Red Widow is an espionage thriller which alternates between two women: Lyndsey Duncan, and Theresa Warner. On a flight from NYC to DC, a Russian businessman named Yaromir Popov dies under mysterious circumstances which sets off a series of alarm bells deep in the heart of Langley, Virginia. Shortly thereafter, Lyndsey Duncan, a CIA agent who has been placed on administrative leave for her actions in Beirut, is told that she has a meeting with Eric Newman, Chief of the Russian Division at the CIA.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
https://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/20...
*Genre* Thrillers / Espionage / Suspense
*Rating* 3.5
*Thoughts*
Alma Katsu's Red Widow is an espionage thriller which alternates between two women: Lyndsey Duncan, and Theresa Warner. On a flight from NYC to DC, a Russian businessman named Yaromir Popov dies under mysterious circumstances which sets off a series of alarm bells deep in the heart of Langley, Virginia. Shortly thereafter, Lyndsey Duncan, a CIA agent who has been placed on administrative leave for her actions in Beirut, is told that she has a meeting with Eric Newman, Chief of the Russian Division at the CIA.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
https://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/20...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 584 reviews