Volk's Game by Brent Ghelfi

Publsihed by Henry Holt and Co. on June 12, 2007

Volk's Game is a fast paced thriller with an abundance of violence that would seem gratuitous were it not for the carefully drawn characters Brent Ghelfi created to drive the story. Colonel Volk lost his leg fighting Chechen separatists while his beautiful (and dangerous) young friend and lover Valya carries emotional scars from that same conflict. The backstory explains why both characters so readily resort to violence, but it is a tribute to Ghelfi's deft storytelling that, as the story unfolds (and continuing into the next book), they begin to question their own bitterness and wonder if some better life might be possible.

Volk works for "the General" in a clandestine role, while also managing his own small-scale criminal enterprise and trying to keep Maxim (a powerful crime boss) happy. Volk's current assignment involves the theft of an unknown Da Vinci masterpiece that has been hidden in an art gallery. During the course of events Volk is betrayed by nearly everyone.

Volk is a complex character: a criminal who works for himself, for other criminals and for the Russian Army (i.e., for his country, which he fiercely loves); a ruthless and (mostly) remorseless assassin who finds time to dispense charity to war veterans and their widows; a man who, despite questioning his capacity for love, displays the self-sacrifice that is love's greatest measure. The secondary characters are a bit one-dimensional and the plot, while tight, is more than a little improbable -- but improbable plot twists are standard in the thriller genre. The story's background seems to have been well researched. All told, I thought this was a fun, enjoyable read.

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Catch a Falling Spy by Len Deighton

First published in 1976

Catch a Falling Spy (also published under the title Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Spy) is a well crafted spy thriller that incorporates elements of dark comedy with gritty action, suspense, and a noir atmosphere. The characters lack the depth of Bernard Sampson, the star of many of Deighton's later novels, but they are nonetheless convincing.

British agent Harry Palmer teams with CIA agent Mickey Mann to help Bekuv, a Russian scientist, defect.   Their mission leads them to a dangerous encounter in the Sahara Desert.  Once they finally have him in a place of safety, Bekuv refuses to cooperate unless his beautiful young wife, Katerina, joins him.  An assassination attempt and the emergence of a secret society of Ruyssian scientists contribute to the intrigue.  Added to the ever growing list of characters who may or may not be traitors are a U.S. senator, the senator's aide, and Harry Dean, a washed up CIA operative who is found with an embarrassing amount of cash in his private stash.  Is anyone to be trusted?  Only by reading to the conclusion of this exciting story can the reader answer that question.

Deighton mixes credible, fast-moving action scenes with psychological drama in a novel that takes the reader on a wild journey.  While not as complex as Deighton's later work, Catch a Falling Spy offers an early example of this fine spy novelist's talent.

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