Scan barcode
A review by gulshanbatra
Bloodmoney: A Novel of Espionage by David Ignatius
5.0
Reading Bloodmoney is a veritable roller-coaster of a ride, around the world - many times over. The story is told at a clipped pace, never slowing down long enough to provide any explanations that are not truly essential to the narrative. That's what makes the story whip-smart, in my opinion.
One gets enough background from that very brief prologue, and the rest of the story is chasing the end of that serpent, trying to complete the circle. The primary premise makes for a gripping tale of deceit, double crossing, murder and revenge.
Sophie Marx is an upcoming star of the CIA, and is almost pleased to be given a chance to make her mark and prove herself. Her assignment begins when top secret CIA personnel begin getting killed all over the world, without any possible connection. This is not your usual Le Carre, nor an expose of the CIA agent's psyche. It is a story of a particular Operation that goes horribly wrong - for reasons you'll find out soon enough should have been seen as inevitable from a mile away. The tease is there, but to the G-Men it gets lost in the sleight.
Geoffrey Gertz is the ever-exuberant boss of a recently created wing of the CIA, that is so off the books even parts of the CIA don't know of its existence. But when he begins losing people, he is at a loss to explain to the powers-that-be in D.C. what's causing it, and how can he stop the bleeding.
Along the way, we meet other suitably well-sketched characters - the hedge fund manager, the Pakistani General who heads the ISI, the CIA Director who's Gertz's boss... you'd notice it is not a very long lineup. The author keeps a tight leash on the story, by not introducing characters that aren't intrinsic to the plot, and thus manages to hold on to your attention for every word and every action from these small group of actors.
All the primary characters - Sophie, Jeff, Perkins, the polite ISI Chief and the somewhat-rambunctious CIA top brass - are all etched very satisfactorily, and quite believably. For that's what one wants more than anything while reading a story that's reminiscent of the best of Bourne and Bond, rolled into one. You want to believe that something as sinister and yet as benign-looking as this can happen, in fact - most assuredly has been happening - while you've been reading this so-called story. It rings authentic. It rings chillingly spot-on. It rings ominously accurate.
The pace never lets down. The killings keep happening with clockwork efficiency. It's an inexorable force that seems to be meeting an immovable object. Of course, sooner or later something's got to give. The fact that there's no big climax, no showdown, no crackling face-off to mark the culmination of the story - makes it even more believable, and pleasing to read.
The spooks know their jobs, and they do it well. Of course, when the dust settles down, only the top brass and the lucky ones survive.
The author, David Ignatius, is a prize-winning columnist for the Washington Post, and has covered the middle-east and the CIA for more than 25 years. It shows. Way up there in the pantheon of some of the best under-appreciated spy thrillers of our times.
One gets enough background from that very brief prologue, and the rest of the story is chasing the end of that serpent, trying to complete the circle. The primary premise
Spoiler
of the overlap between international espionage and international terrorism has always been nebulous at best, shadowy at least, and outright dastardly at worst. This book takes that premise, adds international money laundering - andSophie Marx is an upcoming star of the CIA, and is almost pleased to be given a chance to make her mark and prove herself. Her assignment begins when top secret CIA personnel begin getting killed all over the world, without any possible connection. This is not your usual Le Carre, nor an expose of the CIA agent's psyche. It is a story of a particular Operation that goes horribly wrong - for reasons you'll find out soon enough should have been seen as inevitable from a mile away. The tease is there, but to the G-Men it gets lost in the sleight.
Geoffrey Gertz is the ever-exuberant boss of a recently created wing of the CIA, that is so off the books even parts of the CIA don't know of its existence. But when he begins losing people, he is at a loss to explain to the powers-that-be in D.C. what's causing it, and how can he stop the bleeding.
Along the way, we meet other suitably well-sketched characters - the hedge fund manager, the Pakistani General who heads the ISI, the CIA Director who's Gertz's boss... you'd notice it is not a very long lineup. The author keeps a tight leash on the story, by not introducing characters that aren't intrinsic to the plot, and thus manages to hold on to your attention for every word and every action from these small group of actors.
All the primary characters - Sophie, Jeff, Perkins, the polite ISI Chief and the somewhat-rambunctious CIA top brass - are all etched very satisfactorily, and quite believably. For that's what one wants more than anything while reading a story that's reminiscent of the best of Bourne and Bond, rolled into one. You want to believe that something as sinister and yet as benign-looking as this can happen, in fact - most assuredly has been happening - while you've been reading this so-called story. It rings authentic. It rings chillingly spot-on. It rings ominously accurate.
The pace never lets down. The killings keep happening with clockwork efficiency. It's an inexorable force that seems to be meeting an immovable object. Of course, sooner or later something's got to give. The fact that there's no big climax, no showdown, no crackling face-off to mark the culmination of the story - makes it even more believable, and pleasing to read.
The spooks know their jobs, and they do it well. Of course, when the dust settles down, only the top brass and the lucky ones survive.
The author, David Ignatius, is a prize-winning columnist for the Washington Post, and has covered the middle-east and the CIA for more than 25 years. It shows. Way up there in the pantheon of some of the best under-appreciated spy thrillers of our times.