Political Secret (Book) - 3/14/2018 3:54:23 PM
A Tense, Fun Thriller across New Zealand
A mysterious flash drive carrying secrets about American strategic plans for North Korea drives the exhilarating page-turner Political Secret by Thomas W. Devine. Press attaché Lee St. John has been slipped this flash drive by a dying agent in Moscow. His return to New Zealand leaves him on the run with a compromised and complicated lover, as he is tracked, harassed, and attacked by Russian agents. Lee and Natalie bound across the countryside, over hill and dale, seemingly traversing half of New Zealand, even onto the rugged Catlins along South Island’s east coast to confront a wholly different and surprising adventure.
As Lee tries to figure out how to escape, what level of trust he can place in the exotic Natalie, and how he can get his diplomat father Shane to push the right levers of power to procure his security, the reader rides along, enjoying the twists, turns, romance, and action. Devine deftly shifts perspective from Lee to his girlfriend Sophie to Natalie to Shane. The elements of the plot keep churning, especially given the dogged determination of the Russian spook Vasily. In fact, the machinations of Russian intelligence, the CIA, and New Zealand’s Security Intelligence Service (SIS) provide a nuanced parallel story line of clandestine maneuvers, shadowing the hide-and-seek game going on the ground between Lee and his Russian pursuers.
Devine depicts Lee’s emerging resourcefulness subtly as our protagonist slowly begins to understand the mistakes he’s made and how best not to compound them. As intriguing counterpoints to his perspective, Natalie’s combination of seductress and victim and Sophie’s posture of suffering and insecurity serve to give Lee plenty to ponder beyond the constant threats. Political Secret is a rich, smart suspense novel with a rewarding climax. Devine has spun a thrilling tale.
