Reminiscent of John le Carré’s “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.”

  • Book: Devolution
  • Location: Berlin, Paris
  • Author: John Casey

Review Author: joycey

Location

Content

DEVOLUTION is that rare combustible blend that results when an author’s knowledge of human nature, poetic sensibilities and worldly experience combine to tell a compelling and explosive story. In this case, actual bombs are set to go off and the protagonist is tasked with saving thousands of live. To survive physically and emotionally while completing his mission, newly-recruited spy Michael Dolan must first form crucial, inter-dependent relationships that are based on trust that is not always earned. To compound things, Dolan’s worst enemy may be his obsession with keeping his mind detached, his emotions boxed in, and his heart protected from his painful past. Dolan’s strengths, which are tested to the limit, are his immense resourcefulness and his unwillingness to blindly obey orders. And then—surprisingly enough—there is his growing capacity to love.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. John Casey’s unrelenting realism and technical expertise take the reader behind the scenes in a way that few spy thrillers do. At times Michael Dolan reminded me of George Smiley in John le Carré’s “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.”

This book is the first in a trilogy and I look forward to seeing more of Dolan as he continues to struggle with himself and those he works with to “do good things.

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