Red Widow

Product Description
“A wicked sharp spy novel…Equal parts Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Killing Eve.” –S. A. Cosby, author of Blacktop Wasteland and Razorblade TearsAn exhilarating spy thriller written by an intelligence veteran about two women CIA agents whose paths become intertwined around a threat to the Russia Division–one that’s coming from inside the agency.

Lyndsey Duncan worries her career with the CIA might be over. After lines are crossed with another intelligence agent during an assignment, she is sent home to Washington on administrative leave. So when a former colleague–now Chief of the Russia Division–recruits her for an internal investigation, she jumps at the chance to prove herself. Lyndsey was once a top handler in the Moscow Field Station, where she was known as the “human lie detector” and praised for recruiting some of the most senior Russian officials. But now, three Russian assets have been exposed–including one of her own–and the CIA is convinced there’s a mole in the department. With years of work in question and lives on the line, Lyndsey is thrown back into life at the agency, this time tracing the steps of those closest to her.

Meanwhile, fellow agent Theresa Warner can’t avoid the spotlight. She is the infamous “Red Widow,” the wife of a former director killed in the field under mysterious circumstances. With her husband’s legacy shadowing her every move, Theresa is a fixture of the Russia Division, and as she and Lyndsey strike up an unusual friendship, her knowledge proves invaluable. But as Lyndsey uncovers a surprising connection to Theresa that could answer all of her questions, she unearths a terrifying web of secrets within the department, if only she is willing to unravel it….
Review
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice One of:Northern Virginia Magazine’s Best Beach ReadsBookPage’s Most Anticipated Mysteries and Thrillers of 2021Writer’s Digest’s 71 Books and Authors to Check Out in 2021

“Katsu, a longtime intelligence analyst for the C.I.A. and N.S.A, writes what she’s most professionally familiar with after years in the paranormal and horror novel trenches. The plotting is sophisticated and laced with surprises, but what stands out most is the emotional core of Lyndsey and Theresa’s alliance, and whether there is room, in a nest of vipers, for true sisterhood.”
–The New York Times Book Review

“Terrific…Fans of FX’s ‘The Americans’ will recognize a world where professionalism can fall prey to sexism, careerism, and garden-variety klutziness. Duncan’s job is a lot ‘like juggling knives,’ and Katsu makes us care that she doesn’t bobble.”
–The Washington Post

“
Red Widow is layered with inside knowledge of how CIA bureaucracy works; it is often a bleak workplace, it seems, where loyalty is in short supply and careers can be ended on a whim.”
–Financial Times

“This political thriller is years in the making because it’s based on the author’s own past as a woman working in the intelligence field. DC-area readers familiar with that world will appreciate the attention to detail and the way Katsu’s experience shines through.”
–Northern Virginia Magazine
“Lyndsey is a likeable, slightly mysterious heroine readers will want to see again. And her creator, having traded ghosts and gore for more subdued thrills, still manages plenty of jaw-dropping revelations.”
–Charleston Post & Courier
“Alma Katsu’s main characters in
Red Widow are written with a depth and nuance that I found profoundly refreshing.”
–Diplomatic Courier

“In contrast to many other spy thrillers,
Red Widow does not rely on titillating and damaging stereotypes of women and tales of ‘sexpionage’ to advance the story line. Rather, the book realistically and refreshingly portrays female intelligence officers as highly professional, capable and ethical.”
–Cipher Brief

“The authenticity of [Katsu’s] experiences deepens every bit of this story….I raced to the end, and you will too.”
–Suspense Maga