Having a little background in HUMINT—human intelligence—I enjoy reading espionage novels, and having spent 20 years in the Army, I also love military fiction. Mark Henshaw, a former CIA analyst, brilliantly combined both genres in his first thriller, Red Cell. I wouldn’t have thought that an analyst would be as up as he is on tradecraft—clandestine HUMINT operational techniques, such as secret writing, brush contacts, and dead drops. The novel, concerning a brewing conflict based on China’s desire to reunify Taiwan and the need for a Chinese source to obtain critical information to prevent a major war, doesn’t hit a single false note and is a real page-turner. I can’t think of a better thriller that I have read for several years. An easy five of five stars.