In a random incident on the Moscow Metro, Lee St John, a press attaché with the New Zealand embassy, gains access to an American secret with the potential to start World War III. On the run, he is tailed back to his own country by Russian agents.
Attempting to keep the secret from getting into the wrong hands, he takes to the road from Christchurch, where he encounters New Zealand-born Natalie Voitenko. But is she friend or foe? She too has had dealings with the Russian secret police.
Together they criss-cross the South Island. But it’s only a matter of time until pursuer catches up with pursued.
Excerpt
Unable to stretch out his legs, Lee St John massaged the sides of his knees in an effort to ease the built-up tension.
Over the last thirty hours or so of travel, he had convinced himself that the Russian foreign intelligence service might know he had reason to disembark either in Auckland or Wellington; they seemed to have ways of finding out such things. Auckland would be to catch up with his long-standing girlfriend, Sophie, which he had originally planned to do as soon as his plane landed. Wellington, on the other hand, was his hometown when he wasn’t posted overseas, and was the location of the HQ of the government department he worked for. He was due to resume a position there when his leave was over.
To be less predictable, after passing through border security at Auckland Airport, he bought a ticket for a flight to Christchurch, hoping he could avoid pursuit. It was as good a place as any to lay low.
He was tired but he tried to stay alert. In the busy domestic terminal, he found a corner to sit away from the bulk of pedestrian traffic; the less visible the better. If he was being tailed by Russian agents, they might show his picture around.
He thought of Sophie. He wanted to tell her everything; to talk to someone he could trust, but there wasn’t time to find a public call box. Three years of cautious behaviour in Moscow had conditioned him to rule out resorting to his cellphone. As a new employee at the New Zealand embassy there, he had been forewarned against its use for communicating sensitive information. Even outside their own country, the Russians could possibly use smartphone monitoring spyware, so he needed to avoid drawing attention to his girlfriend. He didn’t want her dragged into his predicament.
He couldn’t help feeling paranoid about his situation; he’d seen and read a lot of thrillers and he was suspicious by nature.
As he waited the short interval until his domestic flight became ready for boarding, he didn’t see any faces he remembered from one or other of the legs of his Emirates flight from Moscow. No one paid him particular attention, including the exceptionally beautiful young woman seated opposite. The people around him in the concourse were going about their own business. Nonetheless, a prickling sensation, an impression that he was being spied on, began at the back of his neck when the boarding call sounded for his flight.
Reaching the departure lounge, he searched faces in the waiting crowd but avoided staring. He recognised no one.
Settling himself as best as he could, Lee took his economy class seat towards the centre of the Airbus A320. Two or three men, among the other passengers who boarded, looked like they might have Eastern European origins but their faces rang no bells, and they seemed oblivious to his presence.
Lee’s flight had a stop-over for thirty minutes in Wellington. He had to disembark but didn’t go out to the concourse, choosing to pass through security into the waiting area for re-boarding. The room filled quickly and he saw several passengers from the Auckland leg of the flight, as would be expected. Only one stood out – a woman similar in age to Sophie. She appeared agitated, almost distressed. She was short in stature and willowy, with blonde hair right to the roots, her casual clothes rumpled from travel.
When she glanced at him, with a lost expression, his own predicament concerned him too much to care about whatever hers might be. He ignored her after that, withdrawing into himself and contemplating his circumstances.
The whole situation was bizarre.
He was certain that the events leading him to become a fugitive didn’t usually befall press attachés – ordinary guys like him. This kind of thing only happened to spooks. Maybe the Russians had mistaken him for one.
For the thousandth time, he mentally retraced the twists and turns of his life over the previous few days. His thoughts took him back to Moscow, to a crisp autumn night, and farewell drinks with friends at a popular bar.
Professional Reviews
Tina Shaw, novelist.
‘This is an exciting pursuit story, a spy story, and almost accidentally a kind of love story. With these strong elements, the different layers take us onto an international stage, while also grounded in fabulous locations in scenic New Zealand. An engaging read.
Andrew J. Killick, MA (Hons), freelance editor
‘One of my favourite books by Devine. He once again brings together his particular mix of intrigue, romance and the atmosphere of the New Zealand setting – this time in the service of an exciting international spy thriller. There is more to the main character, Lee St John, than meets the eye and I hope to encounter him again in the future’.
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Reviews for "Political Secret"
Reviewed by Michael Hartnett
3/14/2018
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.
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