Best read in decades
I'll make this short and sweet: as a fan of the spy genre since the early 60s,this is the best one I've read in 20 years
Stylistic sabotage
The problem here is that this is a better story than the way this writer tells it. That he is compared to Le Carre remains one of the central mysteries to me. In no uncertain terms, you'll quite easily guess how this will all unfold, irrespective of the historical reality that underpins it. In that regard, I was most disappointed. The flyleaf tells of MacKinnon teaching at Georgetown. Yikes. What with Doug Feith and George Tenet doing celebrity stints there, there is no honour left in my alma mater. I can't imagine MacKinnon teaches writing....
As for the spook element, maybe he knows what he is talking about, but the characters in this book would be more at home in a CSI:Miami story line than at Langley. My own father's friends who were so employed never resembled any of the characters of this story. Of course, more than one has also told e that had they still been in service, that a Vice President would leak the name of an undercover operative to settle a political vendetta would occasion his last and fatal heart-attack. But perhaps I'll write that story...
Intriguing CIA procedural
This yarn has plenty of verisimilitude, it moves briskly, the characters are adequately delineated and sufficiently varied and interesting, and the situations are unpredictable enough to keep the pages turning. The parallel unfolding of preparations for the Twin Towers assault makes an effective counterpoint. The CIA and the Twin Towers attackers seem to be operating in different universes.
A Bright New Star in the Espionage Field
In Colin MacKinnon, we have a bright new star of the spy novel. Set in the period leading up to 9/11, Morning Spy, Evening Spy tells the story of a CIA operative investigating the death of a part-time CIA contractor in Afganistan. Is the contractor involved in drugs as well as intelligence? Is his death arranged by a former CIA agent, a native Afgan recruited during the Russian occupation of Afganistan? And what is the role of Al Queda, which the CIA is trying to penetrate?
MacKinnon skillfully weaves his account of the search for the killer with a description of the mounting evidence that "something large" is being planned by Al Queda. He has the gift of knowing the territory. His accounts of the machinations and infighting in the intelligence community ring true. His description of the meetings and mannerisms within the CIA brings to mind Len Deighton, at his best, describing the workings of British intelligence.
Coupled with the espionage plot is a love story between the protagonist and his Washington Post reporter girlfriend. Adicts of "action" novels may find the romantic interest interrupting the flow of the plot, but it's a reminder that spies also lead human lives.
We know, of course, what happens on 9/11, and this shadow overhangs the story. Morning Spy, Evening Spy will provide the reader insight into the fight against terrorism and a good espionage yarn as well. Mr. MacKinnon is a welcome entry into a field somewhat depleted with the demise of the Cold War and the unfortunate decline in powers of old favorites like LeCarre, Deighton and Forsyth. Charles McCarry (be sure and read "Old Boys") is MacKinnon's only true rival.
"He had the gift of believing his own lies."
Colin MacKinnon's "Morning Spy, Evening Spy" is a chilling look at the clandestine world of American intelligence before 9/11, written by a Middle East expert who lived and worked in Iran for years. The first person narrator is CIA Officer Paul Patterson, who tells his story both in the present tense and in flashback. The book opens with the shooting of an American named Ed Powers in a frontier province in Pakistan. Was Ed killed by al-Qaeda because of his government connections or because of his shady business dealings involving drugs and armaments? Another possible scenario is that Powers may have been the victim of a random act of terror. No one knows for sure, but American officials are anxious to find out who murdered Powers and why. An Afghan named Kareem may have some answers but he has suddenly vanished.
Patterson is a former Marine and a twenty-five year veteran of the CIA, who has lived in a number of overseas capitals during his long career. Patterson's obsession with his work has come at a price; Nan, his wife of twenty-four years, has filed for divorce. Paul is in a new relationship with Karen, a Washington-based journalist, who seems to be a bit more tolerant of his work-related responsibilities.
Paul's current title is special assistant for counterterrorism, and his colleague, Bill Cleppinger, heads the Antiterrorism Action Committee. Because the CIA has been under fire of late, Clep and Paul have been summoned by Jim McClennan, chief of staff of the Senate Committee on Intelligence, to answer some tough questions. Although the two pretend to be forthcoming, they carefully censor the truth and deliberately withhold key facts from the committee.
The plot of "Morning Spy, Evening Spy" is incredibly complex, and the book's large cast is, at times, a bit unwieldy. However, the strength of the story lies in the MacKinnon's insightful exploration of several key themes: Why did America's intelligence community fail to thwart the 9/11 hijackers? Does the CIA's penchant for secrecy go so far that its policies actually harm the people whom they are sworn to protect? How does a CIA officer, who is forced to lie frequently and keep secrets from his colleagues and family, survive emotionally?
There is a telling passage in which Paul chats with his friend, a Pakistani journalist named Amjad Afridi. Afridi tells Paul what is wrong with the CIA: "I sometimes think that you cannot see the living, breathing reality in front of your faces or the dangers that lurk just off to the side..." Afridi believes that the American intelligence community is in a state of denial. Furthermore, Afridi insists, the failure of America's leaders to come to terms with the truth about Islam, terrorism, and their own mistakes and shortcomings will hurt them badly someday. These words prove to be eerily prescient. Colin Mackinnon's "Morning Spy, Evening Spy" is a powerful and stunning indictment of a bureaucracy that has outlived its usefulness and has not kept pace with a geopolitical climate that is irrevocably different from the one that prevailed during the cold war years.
(6 reviews)
