Spycatcher in SSG: Spy/Spec-Ops Group

Nov 03, 2015 Garry Thompson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I made the mistake of reading the first book in the series last. Still, it was a good read, but did seem to slow around the half-way mark. Glad
I read the book, very entertaining and has a surprise conclusion.

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Jan 02, 2015 Niles rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Will Cochrane, code named Spartan, was the best of the best in the British intelligence service. After being wounded in Central Park during an operation gone bad in which he lost the informant he swore to protect, Will was rescued and subsequently treated by members of the US Central Intelligence Agency. Will discovers that the CIA man who interrogates him, Patrick, had dealings with his handler Alistair as well as his father, a CIA operative killed in the line of duty. Patrick tells Will that t Will Cochrane, code named Spartan, was the best of the best in the British intelligence service. After being wounded in Central Park during an operation gone bad in which he lost the informant he swore to protect, Will was rescued and subsequently treated by members of the US Central Intelligence Agency. Will discovers that the CIA man who interrogates him, Patrick, had dealings with his handler Alistair as well as his father, a CIA operative killed in the line of duty. Patrick tells Will that the NSA has intercepted communications implicating Iran in a major terrorist operation to take place either in Great Britain or the United States and asks for Will's help in thwarting it.

An Iranian operative, code named Megiddo, is responsible for planning and carrying out the attack. Megiddo is very good, perhaps the equal of Spartan, and no photographs have ever been taken of him. However, Megiddo was active in the Balkans during the war in the 90's, so Will travels there to meet with the current MI6 station chief for help. Ewan, head of Sarajevo station, met with Will and filled him in on his agent Harry Solberg, code named Lace. Harry had worked with MI6 since the early 90's and had a pretty wide intelligence network, often gaining intel that would be almost impossible for other British sources to garner. Better yet, he had been around when Megiddo was operating in Bosnia and was Will's best avenue for identifying and capturing him. Harry tells the two British intelligence officers of a woman named Lana, now living in Paris, who was rumored to have had a love affair with the Iranian. Minutes after meeting with Harry, Ewan is gunned down on the streets of Sarajevo, the victim of a sniper's bullet.

Will travels to Paris in order to recruit Lana, and is immediately struck by her beauty. Even though she had to be in her 40's, Lana still possessed the elegance and beauty of a much younger woman. Finding out that Lana was a jilted lover and out for revenge on the man who had unceremoniously left her without so much as a good-bye, Lana agrees to help Will find and identify Megiddo. Will is encouraged because Lana may be one of the only non-Iranians alive that could identify Megiddo. With the operation in place, Will returns to Bosnia and sets up Lana as the bait. All that remained was for Megiddo to take the bait and fall into Will's clutches.

No operations ever go entirely as planned. Add to that Will's increasing feelings for Lana and concern for her safety and Will is left scrambling to keep up with Megiddo. In fact, it seems Megiddo is always one step ahead of Spartan, Britain's top spy.Also, Will learns that he and Megiddo share a part of the past previously unknown to him, giving Spartan even more incentive to bring Megiddo down. With the bodies piling up from Bosnia to Germany to New York, Will comes ever closer to Megiddo and his lunatic plan of genocide.

Matthew Dunn brings his considerable knowledge of espionage to bear in this thrilling novel. Filled with twists and turns, heroism and betrayals, "Spycatcher" brings to the forefront the old adage that "it takes a spy to catch a spy." A first rate novel. If you enjoy espionage and thrillers, you simply must read this offering from Matthew Dunn. ...more

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