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Cloaks and Veils
For disgraced CIA officer Dara McIntyre, a new assignment to monitor a troubled junior agent is yet another blow to her once high-flying career. Punished for her affair with a Jordanian spy, Dara is stuck in a dreary desk job at Langley headquarters when orders come down for her to assess whether recently widowed officer Caitlin Wolff is still fit to serve in the field.
Dara soon discovers that the grieving widow has dark secrets; Caitlin and her late husband, Jonathan, were running a lurid shadow operation. Convinced that the couple’s unsanctioned acts led to Jonathan’s murder, Dara investigates their final operation. Her mission to track the terrorists responsible for the murder and salvage her career takes Dara to the hedonistic playground of Dubai and the chaotic streets of Barcelona. But when the investigation takes a jarring turn, she can no longer be sure who—if anyone—she can trust.
Dara soon discovers that the grieving widow has dark secrets; Caitlin and her late husband, Jonathan, were running a lurid shadow operation. Convinced that the couple’s unsanctioned acts led to Jonathan’s murder, Dara investigates their final operation. Her mission to track the terrorists responsible for the murder and salvage her career takes Dara to the hedonistic playground of Dubai and the chaotic streets of Barcelona. But when the investigation takes a jarring turn, she can no longer be sure who—if anyone—she can trust.
291 pages, Paperback
First published January 12, 2012
About the author
J.C. Carleson
5 books70 followersJ.C. Carleson never intended to be an author. Although she was always a proficient writer of term papers, reports, and other necessary but mundane documents, she didn't consider herself cut out for the creative life.
Nearly a decade as an officer in the CIA's clandestine service changed that.
With her head now brimming with stories of intrigue, scandal, and exotic locales, Carleson was finally ready to give writing a shot. Her fiction and non-fiction works alike tap into her unique experiences, drawing readers into the highly charged, real world of espionage.
Nearly a decade as an officer in the CIA's clandestine service changed that.
With her head now brimming with stories of intrigue, scandal, and exotic locales, Carleson was finally ready to give writing a shot. Her fiction and non-fiction works alike tap into her unique experiences, drawing readers into the highly charged, real world of espionage.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 9, 2012
The premise of this espionage-romance is solid. Dara, expert CIA field agent, has been sidelined to a desk job for an illicit romance. The murder of a hero finds her in a position to solve the crime, fix endemic rot within the agency and redeem her own career to boot, if only she can figure out what is going on in time. Dara is apparently at odds with everyone, including the Agency and her Jordanian secret agent lover. So far, so good.
Unfortunately, the author does several things to undercut herself. There's an awful lot of coincidence, and multiple spoonfed clues. Dara is hypocritical (her own sexual improprieties are romantic and wonderful; those of other women are condemned, and set women as a class back) and self-congratulatory about her politics, which makes her hard to care about. But the big flaw in this book is that all the action happens off-screen. No car chases, shootouts, stabbings, poisonings, nothing, happens where the reader can see it. Therefore it never feels like Dara is in danger, and the book... is... very... slow. Dara seems part-tourist and part-internal auditor, printing files, wandering around the globe, and stumbling into the solution to the Agency's situation by chance and the actions of others.
Unfortunately, the author does several things to undercut herself. There's an awful lot of coincidence, and multiple spoonfed clues. Dara is hypocritical (her own sexual improprieties are romantic and wonderful; those of other women are condemned, and set women as a class back) and self-congratulatory about her politics, which makes her hard to care about. But the big flaw in this book is that all the action happens off-screen. No car chases, shootouts, stabbings, poisonings, nothing, happens where the reader can see it. Therefore it never feels like Dara is in danger, and the book... is... very... slow. Dara seems part-tourist and part-internal auditor, printing files, wandering around the globe, and stumbling into the solution to the Agency's situation by chance and the actions of others.
June 1, 2012
Within the pages of a work of fiction it may always be necessary to suspend disbelief. Fair enough - it is an unwritten contract between writer and reader. Meanwhile, somewhere fore or aft there is usually some factual information about the author. In Cloaks and Veils we are told that the author is a former undercover CIA officer with a near-decade of covert service around the globe; it must be true but, after reading her book, it almost beggars belief.
Ms Carleson chooses a female undercover CIA agent as the central figure of a complex tale of intrigue, betrayal and treachery. Presumably, we are meant to believe that we are being offered a basically authentic portrait of life in the CIA with only the details altered and maybe stretched just a little to protect the innocent. If so, the CIA must be considering suing Ms Carleson for libel. The Agency has had a bad press in some circles from time to time but seldom can it have been seen as shambolically incompetent as here.
Protocol dictates that I should reveal nothing that might spoil the book for less demanding readers, so I will content myself with asking anyone who takes the plunge to have the word 'contraception' in mind and wonder why it appears nowhere. Of course, it would have demolished the plot but perhaps there is another reason.
Ms Carleson chooses a female undercover CIA agent as the central figure of a complex tale of intrigue, betrayal and treachery. Presumably, we are meant to believe that we are being offered a basically authentic portrait of life in the CIA with only the details altered and maybe stretched just a little to protect the innocent. If so, the CIA must be considering suing Ms Carleson for libel. The Agency has had a bad press in some circles from time to time but seldom can it have been seen as shambolically incompetent as here.
Protocol dictates that I should reveal nothing that might spoil the book for less demanding readers, so I will content myself with asking anyone who takes the plunge to have the word 'contraception' in mind and wonder why it appears nowhere. Of course, it would have demolished the plot but perhaps there is another reason.
May 30, 2015
J. C. Carleson achieves something difficult in "Cloaks and Veils": she delivers a tense, engaging espionage page-turner that eschews Bond-like superhero antics and isn’t shy about the drabber mundanities of the intelligence world.
There's plenty of derring-do and spy know-how in her first novel since leaving the CIA’s clandestine service, where according to Carleson’s website she served for nearly a decade. There are deft twists and turns, some modest steaminess and an enjoyable gallery of real and apparent rogues.
But the CIA, in Carleson's telling - and she should know - is also a government department, with all the pettinesses, back-stabbing and odd inefficiencies one might expect of a bureaucracy. Multibillion-dollar budgets for black ops aside, Carleson's CIA HQ makes its analysts share group printers in the office, for example. And workplace politics are the same everywhere, even if one spies and lies for a living.
In Dara McIntyre, Carleson has a sympathetic protagonist: a female intelligence officer who struggles with sexist (and racist) double standards after growing too close to a fellow spook - a Jordanian - while working in the Middle East. Under suspicion of sharing classified information with her beau, she is pulled from the field, where she has spent most of her career. Now Dara finds herself slow-tracked, trapped in a windowless office at headquarters. Excitement consists of finding anomalies in other officers’ expense reports, until ...
Carleson’s tale moves briskly from Washington to Jordan to Europe as the truth about Dara’s apparent disgrace emerges. Some highly topical questions arise about the CIA’s flexible relationship to domestic and international law. Torture, extraordinary rendition and hypocrisy raise their ugly heads.
Carleson’s book is full of detail and insights that feel drawn from real operational experience - what it’s like for a woman to hide her identity in plain sight under a hijab on a hostile Middle Eastern street, for example, while wishing she were in an even more enveloping burqa - and it is this authentic expertise that makes “Cloaks and Veils” stand out from more fantasist fare in the espionage fiction field. I hope we see more writing from J.C. Carleson in this vein.
There's plenty of derring-do and spy know-how in her first novel since leaving the CIA’s clandestine service, where according to Carleson’s website she served for nearly a decade. There are deft twists and turns, some modest steaminess and an enjoyable gallery of real and apparent rogues.
But the CIA, in Carleson's telling - and she should know - is also a government department, with all the pettinesses, back-stabbing and odd inefficiencies one might expect of a bureaucracy. Multibillion-dollar budgets for black ops aside, Carleson's CIA HQ makes its analysts share group printers in the office, for example. And workplace politics are the same everywhere, even if one spies and lies for a living.
In Dara McIntyre, Carleson has a sympathetic protagonist: a female intelligence officer who struggles with sexist (and racist) double standards after growing too close to a fellow spook - a Jordanian - while working in the Middle East. Under suspicion of sharing classified information with her beau, she is pulled from the field, where she has spent most of her career. Now Dara finds herself slow-tracked, trapped in a windowless office at headquarters. Excitement consists of finding anomalies in other officers’ expense reports, until ...
Carleson’s tale moves briskly from Washington to Jordan to Europe as the truth about Dara’s apparent disgrace emerges. Some highly topical questions arise about the CIA’s flexible relationship to domestic and international law. Torture, extraordinary rendition and hypocrisy raise their ugly heads.
Carleson’s book is full of detail and insights that feel drawn from real operational experience - what it’s like for a woman to hide her identity in plain sight under a hijab on a hostile Middle Eastern street, for example, while wishing she were in an even more enveloping burqa - and it is this authentic expertise that makes “Cloaks and Veils” stand out from more fantasist fare in the espionage fiction field. I hope we see more writing from J.C. Carleson in this vein.
August 13, 2012
Dara McIntyre is a successful CIA Agent, and although the author seems to understand CIA culture very well and she is a more than capable writer, I just could not get into the story. Most novels in the genre do have specific structure within them that keep the story moving along. There was really not a lot within it that could hold my interest, the plot seemed to be well developed, but the author needs to consider how she shows us what Dara is thinking and doing. Much of it became rather redundant, if not downright annoying. Without much sex or violence, there really is no push to classify this one as a thriller. Because I am used to authors such as J.D. Robb, Grisham and Robert Ludlum, there really was not much here to thrill me at all.
June 19, 2013
It had been awhile since I rad a spy novel and I wasn't disappointed with this one. I immediately loved Dara's attitude and aplomb. The plot was sufficiently twisted to keep me interested.
This book contained many scenarios that are probably really happening. Even the base murders and sex scenes were handled with finesse. One point of view that could have been omitted was Travis Park. It allowed the reader to glimpse the "dark side" but it wasn't integral to the overall story.
This book contained many scenarios that are probably really happening. Even the base murders and sex scenes were handled with finesse. One point of view that could have been omitted was Travis Park. It allowed the reader to glimpse the "dark side" but it wasn't integral to the overall story.
July 5, 2018
Another great book from JC Carleton- gripping and an interesting spin on the secret lives and workings of spies
May 11, 2019
Fairly good novel
CUA interesting read. Complex plot but well thought out. I would like to read another book by her soon. Enjoy
CUA interesting read. Complex plot but well thought out. I would like to read another book by her soon. Enjoy
May 31, 2020
Excellent read.
Before reading the Author’s bio at the end I knew it had to be written by a Company insider. Very well written and believable.
Before reading the Author’s bio at the end I knew it had to be written by a Company insider. Very well written and believable.
June 28, 2013
I got this one as a free e-book from Amazon.It seemed interesting and at the time I needed a book to read. It took me over a month to finish it. Not that I didn't enjoy it but just after I bought this book I had a plethora of books show up in my mailbox.Which meant this one got pushed to the side.
There was a whole lot of stuff going on in this book.But through it all I really liked Dara. She was a take charge kind of woman.She was a straight shooter & no BS kind of person.I did find it sort of sad that she had no one in her corner aside from Tariq who she had basically been forced to stop seeing. There was never any doubt in my mind that he cared deeply for her.
Now Caitlin was far more complicated than I ever gave her credit for initially.She had lost her husband and she had learned of her pregnancy shortly after Jonathan had died.By the end of the book I was firmly in Caitlin's corner as I had come to realize that this scheme that she and Jonathan had been involved in,had gotten out of hand.Tony Alvaro & Dominic Cahill are two other players in this crazy game of deception.
I gave this book 4 stars.While I enjoyed it very much,there was not a whole lot of character development in the supporting characters.Outside of Dsra,Tariq,Caitlin and Jonathan I don't feel like I got to know the other characters that well.
There was a whole lot of stuff going on in this book.But through it all I really liked Dara. She was a take charge kind of woman.She was a straight shooter & no BS kind of person.I did find it sort of sad that she had no one in her corner aside from Tariq who she had basically been forced to stop seeing. There was never any doubt in my mind that he cared deeply for her.
Now Caitlin was far more complicated than I ever gave her credit for initially.She had lost her husband and she had learned of her pregnancy shortly after Jonathan had died.By the end of the book I was firmly in Caitlin's corner as I had come to realize that this scheme that she and Jonathan had been involved in,had gotten out of hand.Tony Alvaro & Dominic Cahill are two other players in this crazy game of deception.
I gave this book 4 stars.While I enjoyed it very much,there was not a whole lot of character development in the supporting characters.Outside of Dsra,Tariq,Caitlin and Jonathan I don't feel like I got to know the other characters that well.
September 7, 2014
I really enjoy reading a good suspenseful novel. In this case, the book is written by a former CIA spook which sounded intriguing. Although I put the pieces together pretty early on, the story still kept me engaged to see if my hunches were correct. In addition, I stayed because I wanted to see how the story played out. I was satisfied with the ending and I enjoyed the characters enough to hope that Carleson uses them again sometime. This is certainly a fun read and I hope to see more books from this author in the future.
July 1, 2016
Interesting take on the CIA, I want to believe is quite accurate considering the writer's credentials. It is also a story of romance in the center, hidden by the intrigue and bureaucracy.
Still there are a few things that don't clic correctly, mostly in the time frame, between the time of Dara's punishment and the events that force the hands of the powers that be to pursue that choice. Either they planned the situation long before hand they really need it, or the times are wrong.
Still there are a few things that don't clic correctly, mostly in the time frame, between the time of Dara's punishment and the events that force the hands of the powers that be to pursue that choice. Either they planned the situation long before hand they really need it, or the times are wrong.
June 11, 2013
It started off as a really interesting read but in the middle, I sadly lost interest. I dont know if it was because I was in the middle of a move and had a lot going on but it was becoming a dry read.
June 30, 2014
A great read though I hope that the CIA doesn’t really work like this (but it likely does since Carleson used to work there). I appreciated both how Dara had faults and how the plot twisted and turned unexpectedly.
September 3, 2012
A very cynical tale about the CIA. I liked the first half of the book, but
had trouble buying into some of the later situations.
had trouble buying into some of the later situations.
August 28, 2013
Truly a fast paced, plot turning thriller
July 3, 2014
Good spy novel. Towards the end I couldn't put it down.
September 24, 2014
A cool espionage thriller, with an interesting premise - American spies doing bad things to take down the terrorists. I hope there is a sequel!
October 8, 2014
Mesmerizing!!!
The book definitely kept me interested. The plot had enough twists and turns to wonder what was happening next and was also believable.
The book definitely kept me interested. The plot had enough twists and turns to wonder what was happening next and was also believable.
January 18, 2015
Good audio book, well read - easy to listen to.
October 27, 2016
We!l written. It keeps your interest
Well written It keeps your attention to the point you don't want to put it down until you finish it.
Well written It keeps your attention to the point you don't want to put it down until you finish it.
Want to Read
September 9, 2012Oh, wow! This book looks really good.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews