Today I am reviewing The Eighth Sister by Robert Dugoni for TLC Book Tours. Thank you to TLC and to Thomas & Mercer for the Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book.
About the book (from the publisher): Former CIA case officer Charles Jenkins is a man at a crossroads: in his early sixties, a new baby on the way, and a security consulting business on the brink of bankruptcy. Then his former bureau chief shows up at his house with a risky new assignment: travel undercover to Moscow and locate a Russian agent believed to be killing members of a clandestine US spy cell known as the seven sisters.
Desperate for money, Jenkins agrees to the mission and heads to the Russian capital. But when he finds the mastermind agent behind the assassinations – the so-called eighth sister – she is not who or what she is led to believe. Then again, neither is anyone else is this deadly game of cat and mouse.
Pursued by a dogged Russian intelligence officer, Jenkins executes a daring escape across the Black Sea, only to find himself abandoned by the agency he serves. With his family and freedom at risk, Jenkins is in the fight of his life – against his own country.
My review: In the spirit of full transparency, I’ve long been a fan of Robert Dugoni’s books. I have reviewed a few of the books in his Tracy Crosswhite Series on this blog; Tracy being a police detective in the Pacific Northwest. Like his other books, this book starts and ends in that same area of the country, where Charles Jenkins lives with his wife and young son.
But the locale quickly changes to Moscow, the Black Sea and other parts of the world, as Jenkins goes on his secret mission for the CIA. Dugoni clearly knows Moscow and his descriptions of that part of the world are evocative. Time and place are beautifully written in all of Dugoni’s books, so the reader feels immersed in the temperature of the air, the surrounding landscape, biting winds, the cold sea water. We are not only caught up in the story, we’re caught up in place. As it should be.
This is a new direction for Dugoni, who has at least three series going: Tracy Crosswhite, David Sloan, and now, Charles Jenkins. I haven’t read any of the David Sloane Series – he’s a lawyer – but he plays a big role in this story as Jenkins’ close friend and lawyer.
Dugoni is a great storyteller. This story has many layers, many twists and turns, and to Dugoni’s credit, I couldn’t put it down. The plot is a complicated one, yet Dugoni deftly guides the reader through it while the suspense builds to a crescendo.
I’ve read a lot of spy thrillers and they can feel a little cold and distant. I’m not sure why – is it the nature of the spy who must do his job no matter what? Who must live a life where he is undercover, precluding any sort of emotional attachments? I suspect so. However, with this book, Dugoni has created a reluctant spy who has strong emotional attachments to his family and friends, who has a strong sense of morality, and who, despite his reluctance, commits to the mission with honor. He’s fascinating.
A thoroughly riveting and enjoyable read.
I think you’ll like this book. I know I did.
About the author: Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite Series, which has sold more than 3.5 million books worldwide. He is also the author of the bestselling David Sloane Series; the stand-alone novels The 7th Canon, Damage Control, and The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, for which he won an AudioFile Earphones Award for the narration; and the nonfiction exposé The Cyanide Canary, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year. He is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Award for Fiction and the Friends of Mystery Spotted Owl Award for best novel set the the Pacific Northwest. He is a two-time finalist for the International Thriller Award, the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, the Silver Falchion Award for mystery, and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award. His books are sold in more the twenty-five countries and have been translated into more than two dozen languages.
Good news! I am giving away a copy of The Eighth Sister! (USA and Canada) Just leave a comment on this post (not on the email version of this post) to be considered. On Sunday evening, using the Random Number Generator, I will pick a winner. Good luck!
Happy Thursday.
I have always like this author.
Thank you for the opportunity to try and receive this book.
Looks like you’ve put another book on my TBR list. Thanks for the opportunity! ;)
while spy thrillers are one of my favorite genres, there’s a lot of them out there … but your review is great, claudia, and makes me want to read that book!
thanks for the chance to win a copy.
cold and very, very windy here, but i am glad and grateful that we are avoiding the snow hitting west and north of us. hope everyone stays safe and that the storm fizzles out soon and before it gets to your place.
kathy in iowa
Thank you for the chance to win this book. It sounds like a great read! You do such a great job reviewing books….I’ll be looking for this one at the bookstore if I don’t win!
I don’t think my dad has read anything by Robert Dugoni but he’s a huge fan of spy thrillers so I might have to snag this one and a few others for Father’s Day! He’s always on the look out for new authors. Thanks for being on this tour!
Sara @ TLC Book Tours
I am not a huge spy thriller fan, but this one intrigues me. Thanks for the opportunity to win it!
this sounds like my husband’s kind of book!
This sounds like a book I’d like!
Sounds like a good one Claudia! I’ve never heard of this author.
Sounds good!
I really miss your book blog. You have helped me find some great books to read. I hope that I enjoy this one as much as I have other books that you’ve reviewed.
This sounds like a book that I need. Thanks for the chance to win! I love reading your book reviews so I have new books to add to my list to read.
Thanks for introducing me to an author I have not read,but look forward to delving into his books. xo
Looks like a great book! Thanks for the opportunity to win it!
I love suspense/mysteries. I’m going to have to read some of these books. They sound like great reads!
Thanks!
You’ve made this book sound fascinating. What a good job you do with your book reviews. I would like to have a chance to win a copy.
Thanks for your great review which captured my interest.
I can make a note of this fine review. I am, for now, the owner of many books so no need to send one to me.
After seeing your review, would like to read The Eighth Sister!
Did Don see the NYT article 4/10/19. “Who says that old fashioned street photography is dead?” Louis Mendes is mentioned.
The NYT article is mainly about Jean Andre Antoine if you need to search for it.
Sounds like an exciting book. Thank You for the opportunity to win this book.
Marilyn
Great review, Claudia, of a book both my husband and I would enjoy!
I really like this author and have read many of his books. I just got this on my Kindle today and will be reading it soon. Sounds like another good book from him. Thanks for the review.
I’ve been watching Unforgotten on PBS and I love it! Just started season 3. I love the actress Nicola Walker.
I just love Nicola Walker too! And Unforgotten is a great series. I missed the first episode of the new season-I was too tired and it wouldn’t have gotten the attention she deserves if I tried to stay awake, but it will be on again soon on my other PBS station.
Hi,
I read your blog daily and have never left a comment. This book sounds intriguing so I’m crossing my fingers.
-Mary S.
Thank you for another good read suggestion
Spy thrillers are not my usual genre, but this one sounds good! I just started watching “The Americans”, so maybe this book will add to that story line.
I will be looking for some books by Robert Dugoni next time I go to the bookstore! We are always looking for mystery books and you have never steered us wrong! I found three Louise Penny books last week and my husband has already started on one. I am embroiled in smocking till after Easter. I love my hand stitching so it’s no great chore. And I love all the pictures of your egg collection. It makes me happy and I smile when I see them.
I haven’t been a big fan of spy thrillers, but your review has convinced me to try this book! Hope you and Don are doing well.
I rarely read spy thrillers but this one sounds different.
Sounds like another interesting book. Thanks for a chance to win a copy.
Looks like an author I need to check out. I like protagonists with a moral sense!
I’m looking forward to Unforgotten’s third season, too. It’s recorded and waiting while we decide whether to binge or not. The book sounds like a good one; thanks for the chance to win a copy! I think the chick with the salter tail is my favorite!
Sherry in Little Rock
Good afternoon Claudia! I love spy thrillers as does my husband. Maybe the fact that both our fathers worked for NSA had something to do with it. Considering it is 20 minutes from my home, I’m surrounded by spies! If we win, after we read it I will add it to my Little Free Library for others to enjoy!
I read this book, too, and liked it very much, I’ve read several Robert Dugoni books before, and this is his best . I’ve also read books from both of his other series, and the David Sloane series is better than the Tracy C. series. And David Sloane is back in THE EIGHTH SISTER, I’m glad to say.
In this book, descriptions of Russia and Turkey sound so authentic that I wondered throughout this part where and how Dugoni got his information. (Read the “Acknowledgements.”) These details, along with Jenkins’s struggles there, make this the best kind of book, i.e., the unputdownable kind, the kind you have to keep reading, even during lunch and dinner.