| Publisher | No Exit Press |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 18 March 2021 |
| ISBN-10 | 0857304453 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0857304452 |
| Format | paperback |
| Pages | 256 |
| Price | £ 9.99 |
The Mercenary
by
A traitor within the KGB known as GAMBIT offers a wealth of valuable information to the West but insists he will deal only with an agent who takes a terrible risk in returning to Russia.
Review
Moscow in 1985 is the setting for a battle between the CIA and the KGB, with the cold war coming to a close but hostility as bitter as ever. Paul Vidich covers ground familiar from spy literature and creates a powerful and inventive portrait of an agent subject to all the pressures of a complex and fast-developing confrontation.
The book opens with the CIA Moscow Head of Station, George Mueller, the central character in Vidich’s previous books An Honorable Man and The Good Assassin, attempting a handover of materials to GAMBIT, a traitor within the KGB. GAMBT ioffers information about the latest in Soviet weaponry. When the liaison is betrayed, GAMBIT escapes but Mueller is expelled from the country, and from then on can only monitor progress from Washington.
In his place, the CIA send in Alek Garin, specifically requested by GAMBIT as his handler in the absence of Mueller. Gradually, it comes to light that Garin previously worked in Russia and still has the scars from an operation to exfiltrate another defector, Zyuganov, which ended with Zyuganov’s capture and execution. The Russians are believed to think Garin is dead; within the CIA there are some who suspect Garin’s loyalties.
On the face of it, Garin’s job is straightforward, if dangerous – pick up material from GAMBIT and then arrange for GAMBIT and his family to be smuggled out of Russia. But there are many complications, in particular the evidence that someone inside Moscow Station is leaking information to the Russians. Within the KGB there is vicious rivalry, and one of the competitors is using Zyuganov’s daughter, the beautiful Natalya, to entrap Garin and to use him to gain advantage.
Garin is acutely aware of the nature of the Soviet State, clever enough to recognise some of the ploys being used against him, and to exploit his understanding to further his objectives. At the same time, he is haunted by the events of his previous stay in Russia, and the mutual attraction which develops with Natalya becomes a distraction for two people who cannot afford to lose focus.
This is spy fiction of the highest quality. The detail is absolutely convincing, and Garin comes across as a man capable of thinking clearly under all sorts of pressure, while also capable of great subtlety, and fully cognizant of the weaknesses of the intelligence agencies of both sides
Between the slow release of Garin’s backstory, late revelations as to the full details of what Mueller and Garin have been planning, and unforeseen actions by the KGB, the story is full of incident from the start with plenty of twists and turns until the end. Garin’s beliefs are in some doubt until the last few pages, when his true loyalties become clear.
The book opens with the CIA Moscow Head of Station, George Mueller, the central character in Vidich’s previous books An Honorable Man and The Good Assassin, attempting a handover of materials to GAMBIT, a traitor within the KGB. GAMBT ioffers information about the latest in Soviet weaponry. When the liaison is betrayed, GAMBIT escapes but Mueller is expelled from the country, and from then on can only monitor progress from Washington.
In his place, the CIA send in Alek Garin, specifically requested by GAMBIT as his handler in the absence of Mueller. Gradually, it comes to light that Garin previously worked in Russia and still has the scars from an operation to exfiltrate another defector, Zyuganov, which ended with Zyuganov’s capture and execution. The Russians are believed to think Garin is dead; within the CIA there are some who suspect Garin’s loyalties.
On the face of it, Garin’s job is straightforward, if dangerous – pick up material from GAMBIT and then arrange for GAMBIT and his family to be smuggled out of Russia. But there are many complications, in particular the evidence that someone inside Moscow Station is leaking information to the Russians. Within the KGB there is vicious rivalry, and one of the competitors is using Zyuganov’s daughter, the beautiful Natalya, to entrap Garin and to use him to gain advantage.
Garin is acutely aware of the nature of the Soviet State, clever enough to recognise some of the ploys being used against him, and to exploit his understanding to further his objectives. At the same time, he is haunted by the events of his previous stay in Russia, and the mutual attraction which develops with Natalya becomes a distraction for two people who cannot afford to lose focus.
This is spy fiction of the highest quality. The detail is absolutely convincing, and Garin comes across as a man capable of thinking clearly under all sorts of pressure, while also capable of great subtlety, and fully cognizant of the weaknesses of the intelligence agencies of both sides
Between the slow release of Garin’s backstory, late revelations as to the full details of what Mueller and Garin have been planning, and unforeseen actions by the KGB, the story is full of incident from the start with plenty of twists and turns until the end. Garin’s beliefs are in some doubt until the last few pages, when his true loyalties become clear.
Reviewed 19 February 2022 by Chris Roberts
