![Need To Know](https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1508846920m/35004365.jpg)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“Need to Know” centres around CIA analyst, Vivian Miller. The author, Karen Cleveland, spent eight years as a CIA analyst, so she knows what she’s talking about!
Vivian and her team are working to uncover Russian sleeper cells in the USA. When Vivian accesses the computer of a suspected Russian spy, she is stunned to find that, among the photos of the five sleeper agents, is someone she knows very well - her husband, Matt. I know what you’re thinking – “spoiler alert” – but it’s not really a spoiler – the clues are on the cover of the book and it’s revealed within the first couple of chapters.
The main part of the book revolves around Vivian’s choices. She should turn her husband in – it’s her responsibility. He even tells her to do it. But it’s her husband. She loves him. She’s known him for over a decade, and even though he admits everything, she still can’t quite believe it. They have four children together, one of whom has a medical condition and whose treatment places more financial pressure on the family. Matt has been her rock – what would she and the children do without him?
Vivian has to make a lot of difficult choices and each of them cause her a great deal of anguish. There is no black and white here. Her conflict is completely believable and you really understand her motivation for the choices she decides to make.
To try and resolve the situation, she performs one small task. And then another. Suddenly the Russians have their hooks into her, and before long, she’s in so deep that you can’t see how she and her family are ever going to get out of it. And people die.
The author keeps you guessing – is Matt a bad guy? Is he a good guy? As the story is told from Vivian’s point of view, we know what she’s thinking and feeling the whole way through. Her conflicting emotions – caught between her love for her husband and children and her knowledge that not turning her husband in amounts to treason – make for a nail biting, suspenseful story.
Fast paced, well written, and with completely believable, flawed and very human characters, this book is a gem of a thriller that really keeps you turning the pages.
I was completely hooked – and as the story neared its end, I was certain I knew exactly what was going on. And then, just when you’re feeling all complacent, there’s a final, stunning twist that left me picking my jaw up off the floor.
Highly recommended.
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