lstout456's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
mojoshivers's review against another edition
4.0
My oh my, was this an intriguing read. I wanted to classify it as a spy novel in the vein of Le Carre with an intriguing plot line about seven sleeper agents living in Russia but in the service of the U.S., as well as the man sent to suss out who was killing them one by one. More importantly, this man had the more difficult task of discovering who in the U.S. who had sold out the names of the so-called Seven Sisters.
But from that set-up the novel took the first of its great twists. Instead of being about the search for the identity of the killer, the so-called Eighth Sister, and the mole who sold them out, the middle section details how our hero is found out and has to make a very clever escape from Russia through Turkey and Greece, all the while being pursued by a dogged FSB agent.
Then for its big finish the novel spins again and becomes a courtroom drama. It turns out the hero has been set up. His visits to Russia under the guise of investigation are now being used to say he’s a traitor, that he was not authorized by the US to conduct this operation, and that he’s making this whole story to hide his treachery. It literally goes from a Le Carre novel to a Grisham novel before your eyes, which is fascinating to me.
I’ve never seen a spy plot involving traitors, sleep agents, and a government willing to double-cross one of its end up being resolved in a court of law. It blew me away how you could spool out the connecting threads between a CIA business front, one of its agents conducting his own operation to wash his dirty money through that business, and pinning the blame when it all comes out on the main character all as evidence in a case.
It’s kind of like an episode of Law & Order, except the Law part was far more gritty and involved a lot of spy craft and the Order part was far more hairy as the government as usual would do everything in its power not to appear weak, foolish, or anything less than in control in relation to allowing a mole to grow rich underneath its nose the whole time—even if it meant selling out an honest man.
But everyone gets vindicated in the end. Normally I don’t buy the happy ending, preferring something more bittersweet. But this ending? I would’ve been pissed if it had involved people getting away with the crap they tried to pull. Completely pissed.
But from that set-up the novel took the first of its great twists. Instead of being about the search for the identity of the killer, the so-called Eighth Sister, and the mole who sold them out, the middle section details how our hero is found out and has to make a very clever escape from Russia through Turkey and Greece, all the while being pursued by a dogged FSB agent.
Then for its big finish the novel spins again and becomes a courtroom drama. It turns out the hero has been set up. His visits to Russia under the guise of investigation are now being used to say he’s a traitor, that he was not authorized by the US to conduct this operation, and that he’s making this whole story to hide his treachery. It literally goes from a Le Carre novel to a Grisham novel before your eyes, which is fascinating to me.
I’ve never seen a spy plot involving traitors, sleep agents, and a government willing to double-cross one of its end up being resolved in a court of law. It blew me away how you could spool out the connecting threads between a CIA business front, one of its agents conducting his own operation to wash his dirty money through that business, and pinning the blame when it all comes out on the main character all as evidence in a case.
It’s kind of like an episode of Law & Order, except the Law part was far more gritty and involved a lot of spy craft and the Order part was far more hairy as the government as usual would do everything in its power not to appear weak, foolish, or anything less than in control in relation to allowing a mole to grow rich underneath its nose the whole time—even if it meant selling out an honest man.
But everyone gets vindicated in the end. Normally I don’t buy the happy ending, preferring something more bittersweet. But this ending? I would’ve been pissed if it had involved people getting away with the crap they tried to pull. Completely pissed.
alycille's review against another edition
4.0
I wish I could rate this book in two parts:
3 stars- for the parts in America (court/legal drama)
5 stars- for the international parts!! Could be a movie…so much action and suspense!!
I plan to continue this series!
3 stars- for the parts in America (court/legal drama)
5 stars- for the international parts!! Could be a movie…so much action and suspense!!
I plan to continue this series!
rmichno's review against another edition
2.0
This book started off well but then went downhill for me.
I enjoyed the early spy thriller story, although that devolved into an over-the-top action movie plot which grew boring. But the worst part is the last 1/2 of the book which suddenly became an overly detailed courtroom drama.
I felt it was all a muddled mess.
I enjoyed the early spy thriller story, although that devolved into an over-the-top action movie plot which grew boring. But the worst part is the last 1/2 of the book which suddenly became an overly detailed courtroom drama.
I felt it was all a muddled mess.
slightly_devious's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty good opener. Really enjoyed the audible version.
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
4.0
Finished reading: July 27th 2023
“In my day, you couldn't throw a rock without hitting a Russian KGB officer in Mexico City.”
I only discovered his writing last year when I binge-read the Tracy Crosswhite books, but Robert Dugoni has quickly turned into a favorite thriller author. While I don't usually read a lot of spy thrillers, I couldn't resist adding The Eighth Sister to my TBR both because of his engaging writing style and the fact that the blurb sounded fascinating. I'm glad I gave this story a chance now, because I ended up having an excellent time with it! The Eighth Sister is part spy thriller and part legal thriller, and I really enjoyed how the two subgenres were combined together. The plot is divided into parts, which was actually useful because each part had a different feel to it. We have the main character Charles Jenkins actively spying at first, then a very action-packed and fast-paced escape from the Russians and last but not least the trying to uncover the truth and a play-by-play of a trial. This might not seem like it would work together in a plot, but I personally liked this change in pace and everything evolved naturally. I love a good international setting in my stories, and The Eighth Sister offers a healthy dose of armchair travel with chapters set in Russia, Turkey, Greece and Mexico. Former CIA officer Charles Jenkins made for a great main character, and I enjoyed spending time with him and found myself rooting for him and his allies along the way. I'm definitely looking forward to read the sequel some time soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Car accident, Confinement, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Suicide, Torture, and Violence
jpbronco's review against another edition
2.0
I struggled through this book. It's like a bad spy novel that turns into a worse Grisham story. The premise that the CIA needed a 65 year old former spy without any context or conversation other than someone stopping by to talk with Jenkins. We never completely conclude and catch the 8th Sister,
and then his Russian counterpart just quits and then later leaves him a life's fortune. Good thing he has a friends that can support his family in his house for months and then mount a million dollar trial for no costs.
I am a huge fan of his Crosswhite series. This fell flat for me.
and then his Russian counterpart just quits and then later leaves him a life's fortune. Good thing he has a friends that can support his family in his house for months and then mount a million dollar trial for no costs.
I am a huge fan of his Crosswhite series. This fell flat for me.
achoward's review against another edition
3.0
The Cold War is long over for Charles Jenkins, the 60-ish, 6 foot plus, African-American, ex-CIA agent in Robert Dugoni's The Eighth Sister. After walking away from the CIA decades ago, disgusted by an op gone wrong in Mexico, Jenkins has settled into life on a farm in Washington State, with a young son, a pregnant wife(!), a security consulting business on the brink of failure, and a large client routinely late on payments.
Into this mess walks his former chief, offering him an off the books op, with a payment that will take care of his money problems: go to Russia, find out who is killing off the Seven Sisters, Russian women who are American assets, and find the four who have not yet been killed. The problem: none of the Seven Sisters are connected to one another in any way, and they are unknown to one another, so who is killing them, and how does the killer know they are US assets? Is it the rumored Eighth Sister of the title?
Let's pause there for a moment. I'm a fan of good spy novels. The superb Prince of Spies by Alex Gerlis, for instance. In the nonfiction and the best fiction I've read about spies and spycraft, one of the things that has often struck me is just how pedestrian most spying is and how ordinary-looking most spies are. While the eccentric or flamboyant or outed/burned spies and terrible ops get all the headlines and movies, the rest simply do their jobs. Now, knowing these things, and knowing that Russia (and other countries through which Jenkins travels) is predominantly white, and predominantly under six feet tall, I wondered just how Jenkins was "the perfect fit" for this job, and how implausible it would be for him to be sent to essentially gather intelligence, discreetly, having been out of the game for 40 years. Since he was a field officer, he should have wondered this, too, but in the end, the money offer wins out, and off he goes.
What ensues is a cat and giant mouse game, with Jenkins pursued by a very determined FSB (the successor to the KGB) agent, Viktor Federov, through Russia, Turkey, and Greece. To be honest, I really leaned more toward liking Federov a lot more than Jenkins, if only because he seemed much more realistic, and even though he was greedy and unhappy with his job, he had a plan and the will to continue going after Jenkins. Jenkins appears to not have any issues losing sleep or pushing his 60-ish year old body as if he were a 20-year old, or falling right back into field agent work without a hiccup even though he hasn't been in the field for literally decades. At one rather ridiculous point, we are expected to believe that Jenkins has managed to procure a burka to cover his over 6-foot plus body, and no one seems to raise any questions about a supposed woman the size of an NFL linebacker in said burka.
While the spy portion of the story is interesting, even if implausible, the story abruptly changes into a legal drama when Jenkins manages to return to the US to find it looks like his old boss didn't have his best interests in mind. Jenkins turns to the FBI, only to find himself arrested for espionage: there was no op, his old boss says, and he hasn't seen Jenkins since Mexico, 40 years prior. We don't get any closure on the Russia op; we just go right into courtroom drama territory, of which I'm not exactly the biggest fan.
One of the things that bothers me about some legal thrillers is the author having one character say something to another character during a scene - like an attorney questioning a witness -to make sure the reader gets a point the author is making about the case, when he person on the receiving end of the remark would know whatever the thing was. There are two of these within a couple of pages where Jenkins, who is not a lawyer, tells his own lawyer something about the testimony being offered by a witness. His lawyer would know these things Jenkins whispers to him, as would a reader who has been paying attention.
One part of the ending is very contrived, but serves to solve a large problem (and also made me like Federov more, even if I found that, too, to be improbable). I won't spoil that.
Since this is listed as "Charles Jenkins #1" I don't think it a spoiler to say that it ends rather well for Jenkins.
Four stars for the spy part of the book, most of which is in Russia in a winter Dugoni manages to capture nicely. Two stars for the courtroom drama, including the unnecessary commentary by Jenkins. Splitting the difference to give this three stars.
Read via KU.
Into this mess walks his former chief, offering him an off the books op, with a payment that will take care of his money problems: go to Russia, find out who is killing off the Seven Sisters, Russian women who are American assets, and find the four who have not yet been killed. The problem: none of the Seven Sisters are connected to one another in any way, and they are unknown to one another, so who is killing them, and how does the killer know they are US assets? Is it the rumored Eighth Sister of the title?
Let's pause there for a moment. I'm a fan of good spy novels. The superb Prince of Spies by Alex Gerlis, for instance. In the nonfiction and the best fiction I've read about spies and spycraft, one of the things that has often struck me is just how pedestrian most spying is and how ordinary-looking most spies are. While the eccentric or flamboyant or outed/burned spies and terrible ops get all the headlines and movies, the rest simply do their jobs. Now, knowing these things, and knowing that Russia (and other countries through which Jenkins travels) is predominantly white, and predominantly under six feet tall, I wondered just how Jenkins was "the perfect fit" for this job, and how implausible it would be for him to be sent to essentially gather intelligence, discreetly, having been out of the game for 40 years. Since he was a field officer, he should have wondered this, too, but in the end, the money offer wins out, and off he goes.
What ensues is a cat and giant mouse game, with Jenkins pursued by a very determined FSB (the successor to the KGB) agent, Viktor Federov, through Russia, Turkey, and Greece. To be honest, I really leaned more toward liking Federov a lot more than Jenkins, if only because he seemed much more realistic, and even though he was greedy and unhappy with his job, he had a plan and the will to continue going after Jenkins. Jenkins appears to not have any issues losing sleep or pushing his 60-ish year old body as if he were a 20-year old, or falling right back into field agent work without a hiccup even though he hasn't been in the field for literally decades. At one rather ridiculous point, we are expected to believe that Jenkins has managed to procure a burka to cover his over 6-foot plus body, and no one seems to raise any questions about a supposed woman the size of an NFL linebacker in said burka.
While the spy portion of the story is interesting, even if implausible, the story abruptly changes into a legal drama when Jenkins manages to return to the US to find it looks like his old boss didn't have his best interests in mind. Jenkins turns to the FBI, only to find himself arrested for espionage: there was no op, his old boss says, and he hasn't seen Jenkins since Mexico, 40 years prior. We don't get any closure on the Russia op; we just go right into courtroom drama territory, of which I'm not exactly the biggest fan.
One of the things that bothers me about some legal thrillers is the author having one character say something to another character during a scene - like an attorney questioning a witness -to make sure the reader gets a point the author is making about the case, when he person on the receiving end of the remark would know whatever the thing was. There are two of these within a couple of pages where Jenkins, who is not a lawyer, tells his own lawyer something about the testimony being offered by a witness. His lawyer would know these things Jenkins whispers to him, as would a reader who has been paying attention.
One part of the ending is very contrived, but serves to solve a large problem (and also made me like Federov more, even if I found that, too, to be improbable). I won't spoil that.
Since this is listed as "Charles Jenkins #1" I don't think it a spoiler to say that it ends rather well for Jenkins.
Four stars for the spy part of the book, most of which is in Russia in a winter Dugoni manages to capture nicely. Two stars for the courtroom drama, including the unnecessary commentary by Jenkins. Splitting the difference to give this three stars.
Read via KU.
shelfreflectionofficial's review
5.0
Part I reads like an action packed spy movie as Charles Jenkins navigates a CIA mission in Russia. Things aren’t what they seem and he might not get out of the country in one piece. Very suspenseful and tense.
Part II is the legal proceedings that occur in the aftermath of the mission. Reads like a John Grisham novel- lots of legal jargon and takes place almost solely in the courtroom.
I really enjoyed the combination of both of these parts. Though the purpose of the mission in part 1 isn’t really resolved or revisited in part 2- hoping in the next book we learn more about who all that mission involved.
The characters are likable and easy to picture- I like that David Sloane becomes a part of this story. It’s fun when series connect to each other.
Looking forward to the next installment of Charles Jenkins’ story! Oh, and if you have a trip planned for Russia any time soon, reading this book may give you second thoughts!!
See more of my reviews at www.shelfreflection.com!
Part II is the legal proceedings that occur in the aftermath of the mission. Reads like a John Grisham novel- lots of legal jargon and takes place almost solely in the courtroom.
I really enjoyed the combination of both of these parts. Though the purpose of the mission in part 1 isn’t really resolved or revisited in part 2- hoping in the next book we learn more about who all that mission involved.
The characters are likable and easy to picture- I like that David Sloane becomes a part of this story. It’s fun when series connect to each other.
Looking forward to the next installment of Charles Jenkins’ story! Oh, and if you have a trip planned for Russia any time soon, reading this book may give you second thoughts!!
See more of my reviews at www.shelfreflection.com!