Red Swan

by P.T. Deutermann

Set in contemporary Washington D.C., Red Swan begins with an ominous phone call from Carson McGill, the Deputy Director of Operations in the CIA, to retired CIA officer Preston Allender. Henry Wallace is dead. A behind-the-scenes operator at the CIA, Wallace was integral to the Agency’s secret war against China’s national intelligence service, which infiltrates government and military offices, major businesses, and systems crucial to our security. Wallace had severely damaged China’s Washington spy ring with a devastating ruse, a so-called “black swan,” in which a deep-undercover female agent targeted and destroyed a key Chinese official. Now, Wallace’s mysterious death suggests that the CIA itself has been compromised and that China has someone inside the Agency.

But as Allender quietly investigates, he makes a shocking discovery that will upend the entire American intelligence apparatus. For Wallace’s black swan operation may have been turned against the CIA; a Red Swan is flying and the question is: who is she, what is her target, and where will she land?

Written with the authority of twenty-six years of military and government service at sea and in Washington, Red Swan is a brilliant, provocative thriller about the contemporary war that no one sees, but which will shape the future of America and China.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Action, Espionage, Audiobook, Spy Thriller

294 pages, Hardcover

First published August 22, 2017

About the author

P. T. Deutermann is a retired Navy captain and has served in the joint Chiefs of Staff as an arms control specialist. He is the author of eighteen novels, and lives in North Carolina. His World War II adventure novel Pacific Glory won the W. Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction, administered by the American Library Association; his other World War II novels are Ghosts of Bungo Suido and Sentinels of Fire. His most recent novel is Cold Frame, a contemporary thriller set in Washington, D.C.

Reviews

[Maureen Carden · Rating 4 out of 5]

A CIA consultant, the infamous psychiatrist Dr Preston Allender has helped initiate an operation designed to take out China's Ministry of State Security's (MSS) spy ring in Washington. The op targeting the Chinese spy ring involves a beautiful CIA agent, Melanie Sloan, enticing the head of the MSS, General Chiang, into a not- a -honey-trap, honey trap. Oh, this was good, worth the price of admission.
As punishment for the successful ops against the Chinese MSS, Dr Allender is asked to retire. Because, doncha know, the op interfered with White House interests and we know what flows down hill.
As they say though, payback is hell and payback begins a year later. Dr Allender is brought back to investigate the possible assassination of a CIA deputy director, Henry Wallace. I say possible, because when you can't determine cause of death and it is a deputy director, well... So begins payback against the CIA and the individual agents involved. The MSS does not seem to recognize the rules of The Great Game...you win some, you lose some. You don't take out individual agents because then it never stops, it becomes tit for tat.
Dr Allender is sent over to liaise with the FBI as they have been tasked by a Congresswoman to investigate the death of Wallace. Allender encounters Mel Sloan again, new Grace Kelly face and all, as she has been placed in that same Congresswoman's office for a smear op. BUZZ, we have a loser here. CIA can't run ops on American soil, and this one would never stay secret.
Sloan allies herself with Allender as they attempt to ward off the payback by the Chinese and the possibility of a traitor within the CIA.
Smoke and mirrors, hall of mirrors, nothing is as it seems. An intricate and intriguing story line.
Dr Preston Allender, he of the amber dragon eyes, he of the possible mind-reading abilities, and he of the rarefied interrogation skills is one of the more interesting characters to come down the pike in a long time. Mel Sloan is another character who has staying power, and is not just another pretty face. Either face.
I'm hoping this might be the first in a series featuring Dr Allender and Mel Sloan.
Red Swan reminds us of the greatest transfer of wealth in history, all from the PRC stealing most of our technology, both civilian and military. Not even from regular spies or traitors; just think if you were from the PRC and worked at Lawrence Livermore or NSA and someone from the MSS came to visit about the health of your parents.
One of my quibbles is that one of spies just doesn't ring true and it would be a bit of a spoiler to say why. It's also important in this book to keep in mind the difference between spy and traitor. Also at times the story seems a bit more convoluted than is necessary.
A fast paced, enjoyable read, with maybe something to teach us.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Kyle Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A high octane, fast paced game of spy vs. spy. This international political thriller is the first book I have read by P. T. Deutermann, a retired Navy captain with 26 years of military and government experience and over 20 novels to his credit. His expertise in the subject matter rings true in this masterfully crafted Nobel. The plot for this novel is multi-layered and complex. Deutermann pays special attention to deep background discussions and character development. This is more than a typical spy novel, as it deals with interagency and international espionage, treason, and the real possibility of what the future may hold.

The first part of the book details the recruitment and legend creation of a CIA operative to infiltrate the Chinese government in a black swan operation, an intelligence coup aimed at a Major General in the Ministry of Security Services. Melanie Sloan has been deemed as the perfect fit for the bill by Dr. Preston Allender, and she is coached and molded by the Agency and her controller in a well choreographed plan to achieve infiltration.

Part two picks up a year later where the wheels are set in motion with the red swan. Dr. Allender has been called out of retirement to help investigate the death of a key figure in the CIAs secret war against China's National Intelligence Service. Things get pretty intense between the CIA, FBI, and Congress. As is typical in these circles, no one knows just exactly what is going on and no one knows who they can trust. There are spooks and traps around every corner. The stakes are high as Dr. Allender uncovers lie after lie and a stack of puzzle pieces that don't seem to fit together. This one will keep you guessing right up until the final chapter as you read long into the night.

I would recommend this book to fans of thrillers, suspense, and international espionage. I received this as a free ARC from St. Martin's Press on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great spy novel that was full of twists and turns and many layers. This is my first novel by this author and I found it quite enjoyable. Dragon Eyes was an interesting character and Melanie was bad ass.

[Avinesh Shankar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not high literature however if you like thrillers then this is a page turner. The story is average but it has the usual suspense, turns and drama. The writing style is amateur and it is full of cliches and there is not a lot of character development. It is the usual story of international espionage and conspiracy and if you want light reading over a few hours then it will serve the purpose.

[Ron Wroblewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a master writer. So many twist and turns in this novel that you don't know how the good guys and bad guys are until the very end. He keeps you in doubt wish to me keeps me intrigued and wanting to read on. A story about the CIA, FBI and the Chinese intelligence network in the USA. I love reading PT Deutermann and have read almost all of his books. On to the next one.

[Sabrina S · Rating 1 out of 5]

Almost gave up at Chapter 5.... should have....

[Megargee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Imagine Le Carre's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy set in the US with the Agency (CIA), Bureau (FBI), and Service (US Secret Service) in place of the Circus. Add one part Manchurian Candidate and numerous conspiracies. Dr. Preston Allender, a psychiatric consultant who does training and assessment for the Agency, gets drawn into a "black swan" or plot to discredit a Chinese MSS operative, but the success of his scheme causes a major kerfuffle when the Agency Director and White House are seeking a rapprochement with the Chinese.
I enjoyed Book 1 (Black Swan) but Book 2 (Red Swan) was just too fraught and conspiratorial. As a psychological consultant who was involved in training and assessment for the Secret Service and who interacted with Bureau and Agency personnel back in the 1980s, the disparities between my experience of these agencies and Deuterman's imagined accounts was so vastly different I could not suspend disbelief enough to enjoy the various plots and machinations, especially the electrifying ending and its shocking conclusion.

[Nan Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a romp through the secret halls of the CIA and FBI!! Oh MY! The twists and turns we had! It was a bit confusing to keep up with just who was on which side, but none the less, it was entertaining and a delightful treatise on today’s espionage and counter espionage and counter-counter espionage! Whew!

Unlike other Deutermann novels, this one, while dealing with serious subjects, had a much lighter tone. There was a lot of humor mixed in with the heaviness of international relations.

As always, I appreciated a straight forward story as opposed to one which jumps all over the place in the timeline. I appreciated the relative cleanness of the action and verbiage and the fact that men and women can work together professionally without falling into bed by the end of the first chapter. I appreciated the fact that characters stayed true to the foundation of their characterizations even though … well … it was about counter espionage.

Just a good solid enjoyable read. Certainly recommended to those who like spy novels – especially lighter ones.

[Chuck · Rating 1 out of 5]

This Deutermann effort ranks right up there with the biggest disappointments of my reading career. I have read nearly all of his books and enjoyed them all up to now. In my opinion it read like a drug induced fantasy. I never did get the feeling that I was reading a real life story with real, believable characters. Maybe it was an effort at satire that I just missed. About half way through I thought to myself, "I couldn't care less about where this story is going or how it ends." I guess I finished it out of habit. By the way, it allegedly describes the inner workings of the intelligence gathering agencies of the United States and China. If this story had any credence at all we are all doomed.

[Regina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot was too far-fetched for me, and about as subtle as an action movie. I might have given the book three stars if not for the sloppy final editing job--several instances of missing or extra small words, missing closing quotation marks, or single quotes facing the wrong way, and commas where no punctuation was called for. The most distracting issue for me was the strange overuse of colons following conjunctions and other single words, such as sir or ladies--there were four examples of this on one page alone. Punctuation should facilitate reading, not hinder it.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deutermann is a good author, writing about World War II naval historical fiction and the modern thriller set in the nexus of the CIA, FBI, and military intelligence agencies. Unfortunately, this one isn’t one of his best efforts. Typical CIA stuff, but not very engaging. Interesting, but unbelievable plot involving those nasty, ruthless Chinese spooks. Obviously, you need to finish it to see who gets killed in the end, but you’ll forget all about it by tomorrow morning’s coffee.

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

P.T. Deutermann's chronicles of the war (WWII) in the Pacific are wonderful. This book was not.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tough to put down. Well written.

[LindaJ^ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent read, although not particularly believable and very convoluted. The CIA is running a Black Swan op to take out the head of the Chinese Secret service. The Director of Operations enlists a high level agency psychiatrist - Dr. Preston Allender - to figure out how to do it. The Chinese spy leader has a weakness for women so Allender works that angle. The story opens with his interview of a woman operative - Melanie Sloane - who was recommended as the potential "trap." After a few maneuvers, she is selected for the job and performs spectacularly. Then she has to have her face completely changed, which takes a year of surgeries. Allender is forced to retire as a result of the op, chosen to take the heat for the agency. The op was too successful and interfered with some top secret negotiations.

After a year, Melanie is back at the agency and thrown into another Black Swan operation. Allender is happy in his retirement, until he is suckered into agreeing to help the agency in an investigation. This is when things start getting complicated, with Chinese agents everywhere and no end to twists and turns. Kept my attention. The audio narrator, recognizably the same as the narrator for other books I've read by this author, has improved considerably and was quite enjoyable.

[Alex Buschmann · Rating 2 out of 5]

They say the book begins with a phone call but I feel like I was a third-halfway through the book when that call came in. When it happened, the plot did pick up. But a slow opening did not draw me in to the book like I was hoping it would.

Overall, it wasn't a bad story, just the pacing seemed off to me. In this type of novel, I'm willing to forgive cliches but some of them were too much for me. Due to several reviews and praises of his other works, I may look at some of his other stuff and give it a try but as for this one...eh.

[Cindy B. · Rating 1 out of 5]

There’s saucy and then there’s “something wrong with this picture.” And this is the latter.narrator did fine. The immorality in the first few chapters wasn’t going to get better. With the USA’s present luck Hollywood will make it a movie… then we cam ‘Netflix’ them

The first time I didn’t like the author’s work.

[Blackbird · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first chapters of the book are like a 12 year old boy's sex fantasies written by a 12 year old boy. I wanted to quit, but suffered through it just to see if the end was worth it. A lot of interesting double-crosses, but not enough to suffer through the first chapters.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has an incredibly clever plot. It's one of the best books I've read.

[Philip · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t actually read the whole book. I found it unsatisfactory. Even half way I was not sure where it was going and the characters were not appealing.

[James Tomasino · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poor writing

[Mark Easter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. Underwhelmed by the plot. Put off by the superficial, high school mentality sexual content comprising a significant portion of the book. I suggest you skip this one.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fast paced action thriller that keeps you guessing until the end. A cast of dubious characters in the highest of the Washington DC government agencies doing what they do best....or worst.

[John Purvis · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Red Swan" eBook was published in 2017 and was written by P. T. Deutermann (https://www.ptdeutermann.com). Mr. Deutermann has published 20 novels.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Situations. The story takes place in the contemporary US. The primary character is Dr. Preston Allender.

Psychiatrist Allender was an officer at the CIA, dealing with training and senior officer evaluations. He masterminds a masterful plan to discredit a ranking Chinese intelligence official that is very successful. But the administration needs a scape goat for the firestorm that results and Allender is forced to 'retire'.

Almost a year later he is approached to come back on a consulting basis to act as the liaison between the CIA and FBI for an FBI task force investigating the death of a top ranking CIA officer. The more that Allender discovers, the less he feels he has been told the whole truth. He finds himself the focus of both Chinese and American agents, and everything he has been told comes into question.

I really enjoyed the 7.5 hours I spent reading this 282 page modern suspense thriller. I liked this story. It was not a high-action plot with lots of firefights or hand-to-hand combat. It was more of a suspenseful mystery. The cover art is eye catching, but not directly related to the story. This is the second novel written by Mr. Deutermann that I have read and I have enjoyed them both. I give this novel a 4.5 (rounded up to a 5) out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book by this author. I enjoyed the pacing and the characters, and the plot was believable (although other reviewers don't seem to think so). Deutermann kept the key to the storyline well hidden; although it was clear that all was not as it seemed, the final twist and how it would be discovered wasn't revealed until the end. One complaint in that regard: the resolution was a little too pat for my taste in that Deutermann just had two characters tell two other characters what had actually been going on.

And a couple of issues about the audio version. First, Dick Hill is not my least favorite narrator, but he's close, and this audiobook was no different. I wish he would just do a straight narration, and I find his female voices especially annoying. Obviously, this is something that might not be an issue for other readers. Second, and I hope this is an issue unique to the audio version, Greer's first name was Martine through the entire book, right up to the final couple of chapters, when it suddenly changed to Maxine. That's either an unacceptable and distracting editing error or an unacceptable and distracting narration error. I don't think I'm overly picky (or alone) in objecting to such mistakes.

Deutermann concluded the book by leaving open the possibility of Allender and Sloan appearing in subsequent novels. I enjoyed the interplay between the two of them and hope their adventures together continue.

[David D'Arcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red Swan, by P. T. Deutermann

Game of Spies

Red Swan intrigues and puzzles from the start with meticulously masterminded CIA plot against Chinese general, the plot which leads to execution of that general back in China.

The whole book is a game between spy agencies, the fine web of intelligence operation called "the swan" where elaborately set up event starts the chain reaction which leads to unexpected but spectacular result bringing down the whole house of cards of an enemy.

I usually favor straightforward,brutal military-intelligence thrillers and Red Swan is certainly a different kind of a book where you discover layer upon layer of deception and try to understand all twists and turns of intelligence work.

And though I found certain aspects of intelligence traps described in Red Swan rather unsavoury, the plot on the whole is so finely woven that it kept me tense and guessing till the very end.

And the absolute winner is the central character,the CIA chief interrogator and nearly mind-reader Dr. Preston Allender, the man with Devil Eyes.
I had great time trying to solve the puzzle which is Red Swan and want to express my thanks to Mr.Deutermann for his wonderful book!

[Viva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoilers ahead. I've just finished most of Deutermann's WW2 Pacific theater series and loved 99% of it, probably the best overall military series I've ever read. This one is a contemporary spy thriller set in Washington DC.

As usual the writing is easy to read and follow. The characters as always are nicely written. The setting is well done. If everything is so good, why a 3 star? Deutermann has fallen into one of the writer's traps, he made the plot much too complicated believing that a complicated plot = good book. No, it doesn't. Good, engaging characters that get the readers invested in the book makes it a good book. You don't really need a endless twisting plot full of twists at every turn. At some point, the characters (and the readers) become slaves to the twists rather than the other way around.

Having said that, the first twist was a good one. Maybe the 3rd twist too, but not the 2nd and the 4th to the nth twists. But I still like the author and I'm now reading another one of this books, a Vietnam era one.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doctor Preston Allender, a CIA consultant, implements a “black swan” scheme designed to discredit the head of a Chinese spy ring in Washington; however, the success of the mission costs him his job. But the death of Henry Wallace, the Deputy Director of Operations for the CIA, brings him back to the CIA, this time to investigate Wallace’s death.

He discovers that someone has turned Wallace’s “black swan” operation against the Agency. Could China have someone inside the Agency? Could Wallace’s mysterious death indicate compromise of the CIA itself?

“Red Swan” is a fast-paced, finely-crafted, compelling thriller peopled with believable, well-developed characters. With its unexpected reveals and a cunningly clever plot that twists and turns as it ramps up the suspense, readers will find it difficult to set this one aside before turning the final page.

Highly recommended.

[Tony Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally different from anything Captain Deutermann has written in the past; his first foray into the world of CIA intrigue despite the fact, as he admits, his understanding of the workings of the Agency comes from nothing more than personal research via Google and possibly other open resources. I doubt if he hit any sensitive buttons of anyone actually within the CIA, but through his imagination he may have caused a few within the Agency to make a note to follow up on the author if only because they see an opening for a sequel. I’m sure he has garnered some new followers who will most likely check the library shelves for earlier similarly imaginative tales by PT Deutermann.
Well worth reading even if you have to miss a Thursday night football game to find out how the story ends.

[Craig Wakefield · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are so many ways to write a book that involves the CIA and FBI. Many of those books written have scenes about interrogation. No other book except 1984, makes me fear such an interrogation, not because of physical pain or torture but of the use of the lack of pain and what the mind can imagine. Our protagonist uses others and in turn is used himself to reach the final goal of ridding government of those bad, bad people.

[Rob Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is an elabarate spy vs. spy thriller set in Washington DC. Who are the bad guys and the good guys is open to interpretation until the very end. Deutermann is a master at this, and this is one of his better yarns. At times while reading, you even question the main charactors. This novel is truely an enigma wrapped in a mystery. Especially good reading if you've ever worked for the government.