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danoreading's review against another edition
4.0
Blurbs were right - it was very hard to put this one down.
deschatjes's review against another edition
3.0
It's had rave reviews and it's ok, but fairly predictable. You kind of know what's going to happen and who the people are who will be exposed and even the ending was a little formulaic (and opened up the chance of a sequel) but it's good escapism, just not quite worth all the press.
riada's review against another edition
4.0
What would you do to keep your kids safe?
Vivian Miller is married to Matt. They have 4 children. She's a CIA Russia CI analyst tasked with detecting Russian sleeper operators in the US.
While hacking a Russian spy's computer, she found photos of five sleeper spies on American soil, including her husband. She confronts her husband about her discovery, fully expecting him to deny it. She's shocked when he doesn't refute it.
In thrillers like this, the concept that someone you know is really an outsider or invader intrigues me. When everything you know is a lie and everything falls apart... When one choice leads to another, and another, and another... the gear closes in.
This book lacks murders and corpses. The butterfly effect causes chaos. A woman whose behaviors and ideals clash.
Vivian's character is well-developed psychologically, as she balances her professional obligations with love for her spouse. She opens up about her feelings, guilt for not noticing, regret for letting herself go, and the control her husband had over her by influencing certain choices. She mourns the loss of her life and marriage, prioritizes her children's safety above all else, and in the end, she always goes back to her love since he can't be a Russian agent. She previously trusted her instincts, but now she's unsure.
I love the cliffhanger ending. The Dasvidania at the end made me giggle since the end seemed too perfect and too simple.
It's amazing how quickly stress rises with just a Dasvidania.
I believe that we will see more of Alexander Lenkov in future Karen Cleveland novels.
Conclusion:
Fast reading. A mother's desperate search for a Russian spy network and her determination to do everything to safeguard her family. I didn't like the ending as it was too perfect.
The book's cliffhanger raises numerous questions. Maybe a sequel will address readers' questions? Overall, a terrific suspense tale for secret agent fans.
In the end, it's a spy thriller that teaches us to go to the ends of the world for our loved ones. Even if it means betraying your country. I'd recommend it to anybody who wants to start reading thrillers.
Cover:
The cover suggests an espionage thriller. It also shows a desperate Vivian. It's nice.
Vivian Miller is married to Matt. They have 4 children. She's a CIA Russia CI analyst tasked with detecting Russian sleeper operators in the US.
While hacking a Russian spy's computer, she found photos of five sleeper spies on American soil, including her husband. She confronts her husband about her discovery, fully expecting him to deny it. She's shocked when he doesn't refute it.
In thrillers like this, the concept that someone you know is really an outsider or invader intrigues me. When everything you know is a lie and everything falls apart... When one choice leads to another, and another, and another... the gear closes in.
This book lacks murders and corpses. The butterfly effect causes chaos. A woman whose behaviors and ideals clash.
Vivian's character is well-developed psychologically, as she balances her professional obligations with love for her spouse. She opens up about her feelings, guilt for not noticing, regret for letting herself go, and the control her husband had over her by influencing certain choices. She mourns the loss of her life and marriage, prioritizes her children's safety above all else, and in the end, she always goes back to her love since he can't be a Russian agent. She previously trusted her instincts, but now she's unsure.
I love the cliffhanger ending. The Dasvidania at the end made me giggle since the end seemed too perfect and too simple.
It's amazing how quickly stress rises with just a Dasvidania.
I believe that we will see more of Alexander Lenkov in future Karen Cleveland novels.
Conclusion:
Fast reading. A mother's desperate search for a Russian spy network and her determination to do everything to safeguard her family. I didn't like the ending as it was too perfect.
The book's cliffhanger raises numerous questions. Maybe a sequel will address readers' questions? Overall, a terrific suspense tale for secret agent fans.
In the end, it's a spy thriller that teaches us to go to the ends of the world for our loved ones. Even if it means betraying your country. I'd recommend it to anybody who wants to start reading thrillers.
Cover:
The cover suggests an espionage thriller. It also shows a desperate Vivian. It's nice.
bibliophilebookclub's review against another edition
3.0
Need To Know was a much-talked about book so I was really excited to get stuck into it, which I managed to do over the Christmas holidays! I’m not going to lie, I found it a bit slow to start, with a lot of focus being on thoughts and emotions as opposed to actual stuff happening, if that makes sense?! But, once it gets going, it REALLY gets going!
I’m a huge fan of CIA/FBI, basically any Agency-type books. I love the covert-ness (probably not a real word, but hey!) of it all. The secrets, the slyness, it all makes for a great read because you know something is going to happen, but you have no idea what direction it will come from. Need To Know definitely had this in spades!
It’s hard to know how much of this is actually possible in real life, because Need To Know required a little suspension of belief at times. But if it can be done in real life, then OMG because its crazy to think that this sort of thing can happen. It makes for interesting reading though, and it will definitely pull you in!
Definitely enjoyed this one. It is gripping, and once it gets going, its pretty fast-paced too. It left me with questions at the end, so I’m hoping there’s another book coming as I’d love some answers, haha!
Recommended for sure!
I’m a huge fan of CIA/FBI, basically any Agency-type books. I love the covert-ness (probably not a real word, but hey!) of it all. The secrets, the slyness, it all makes for a great read because you know something is going to happen, but you have no idea what direction it will come from. Need To Know definitely had this in spades!
It’s hard to know how much of this is actually possible in real life, because Need To Know required a little suspension of belief at times. But if it can be done in real life, then OMG because its crazy to think that this sort of thing can happen. It makes for interesting reading though, and it will definitely pull you in!
Definitely enjoyed this one. It is gripping, and once it gets going, its pretty fast-paced too. It left me with questions at the end, so I’m hoping there’s another book coming as I’d love some answers, haha!
Recommended for sure!
triskaidekaphile's review against another edition
Whoo boy. This was a very bad listen. The Narrator did a fine job with the material, but the story was so unbelievable. While am not a spy thriller type, I am a huge fan of taut thrillers. I gave this one a chance because the premise sounded fun.
My first mistake was following our protagonist, Vivienne, who has to be THE STUPIDEST CIA agent who has ever existed.Upon discovering her husband of a decade is a Russian sleeper agent, she doesn’t go to her close colleague, or her higher ups, no. She goes home, and confronts her husband, who instantaneously admits that he was sent to marry her and use her to get intel.
At that point I should have bailed. The fact I stayed another 8.5 hours? THAT IS ON ME. I went into the final 2 hours hate listening, it got more and more unrealistic, plot holes getting bigger, the protagonist making worse and worse decisions. At 9:11 (with less than 30 min left). I finally admitted defeat. I was so mad at the story I couldn’t keep listening. No, love does not conquer all.
Please save yourself some time and leave this book in the shelf. Your brain and soul will thank you.
My first mistake was following our protagonist, Vivienne, who has to be THE STUPIDEST CIA agent who has ever existed.
At that point I should have bailed. The fact I stayed another 8.5 hours? THAT IS ON ME. I went into the final 2 hours hate listening, it got more and more unrealistic, plot holes getting bigger, the protagonist making worse and worse decisions. At 9:11 (with less than 30 min left). I finally admitted defeat. I was so mad at the story I couldn’t keep listening. No, love does not conquer all.
Please save yourself some time and leave this book in the shelf. Your brain and soul will thank you.
viegreifen's review against another edition
4.0
For her first novel, I'm very impressed. It was packed with excitement and suspense from the very beginning and even ends with a note or a hint of perhaps a sequel. however, there might have been a bit too much suspense that made me need to take a break every now and then. The characters are well developed and relatable. One can never really know who is telling the truth or can be trusted.
sparklybob's review against another edition
3.0
Hmmm well I enjoyed it in the fact it's a quick read and pretty pace-y. Really liked the premise and the start but for someone who is trained to work in epsionage, she seemed remarkably gullible and fell for what her husband was saying time and time again despite him constantly proving he was lying. There was just too many questions or convenient believing of what she was being told that meant it fell a bit flat for me
busy_reader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
sherwoodreads's review against another edition
Wow, this what about as white-knuckle a thriller as I've read in a long time, and it was pretty much all psychological, depending on the real connections between people, and not on guns and torture and a trail of dead bodies. (Which I am okay with, it's just that this wasn't one of those.)
Not that there wasn't torture, but it was all in the head, the worst kind, as in what happens when an unknown danger threatens your family, your kids?
Vivian is a CIA analyst, happily married, with four kids, one with heart problems that, along with a heavy mortgage, stretch the family budget. But she and Matt are great at tag teaming kids and shopping and meals and so forth, both devoted to the kids as well as to each other.
Vivian is terrific at her job, her current project to identify a Russian sleeper cell.
She digs in deep, uncovers some photos, and when she stares into a face she knows well, her entire world begins to unravel. Cleveland does a terrific job with that gut-gnawing terror, swapping off with mama-bear protection mode. Not every decision that Vivian makes is the right one, though it seems right at the time, her options limited, especially as new horrible discoveries come at her at every turn.
We get occasional glances into her first meeting with her husband, romance, and marriage, and the births of the kids, as Vivian considers her past, present, and future before every move she has to make. The quiet terror underscoring her attempt to hang on to a semblance of normal life is really well done. I simply could not stop reading until the end . . . and what an end!
Apparently Cleveland has worked in that shady world. The terrific detail, the subtle pressures and tensions, resonate as real.
Copy provided by NetGalley
Not that there wasn't torture, but it was all in the head, the worst kind, as in what happens when an unknown danger threatens your family, your kids?
Vivian is a CIA analyst, happily married, with four kids, one with heart problems that, along with a heavy mortgage, stretch the family budget. But she and Matt are great at tag teaming kids and shopping and meals and so forth, both devoted to the kids as well as to each other.
Vivian is terrific at her job, her current project to identify a Russian sleeper cell.
She digs in deep, uncovers some photos, and when she stares into a face she knows well, her entire world begins to unravel. Cleveland does a terrific job with that gut-gnawing terror, swapping off with mama-bear protection mode. Not every decision that Vivian makes is the right one, though it seems right at the time, her options limited, especially as new horrible discoveries come at her at every turn.
We get occasional glances into her first meeting with her husband, romance, and marriage, and the births of the kids, as Vivian considers her past, present, and future before every move she has to make. The quiet terror underscoring her attempt to hang on to a semblance of normal life is really well done. I simply could not stop reading until the end . . . and what an end!
Apparently Cleveland has worked in that shady world. The terrific detail, the subtle pressures and tensions, resonate as real.
Copy provided by NetGalley