what I’m reading: need to know by karen cleveland.

Vivian Miller is a CIA analyst tasked with identifying and locating Russian sleeper cells. When she gains access to a potential Russian operative’s computer, what she discovers sets off a chain of events that threatens not only her career, but her family as well.

This book was equal parts frustrating and thrilling. Frustrating because Vivian kept ignoring all the red flags that were practically waving in front of her face. Thrilling because as stupid as she was, I had to know what would happen next.

Vivian was a bit of a disappointing character. She’s introduced as a highly trained CIA analyst, yet she spends much of the book running to her husband, who could not be any shadier, for advice. He repeatedly “fixes” her problems, only for those solutions to create even bigger issues that, conveniently, only he can solve. For a character that is supposed to be a capable intelligence professional, Vivian did not seem to have much intelligence.

Maybe this makes me too much of a skeptic, but I also struggled to believe how Vivian just accepted her husband’s explanations and lies. From the outside, looking in, the warning signs were flashing and blaring loudly. That said, it’s easy to judge when you’re not the one under pressure. I don’t have children, and I’m not married, so I don’t know what I would do if I were in Vivian’s position. I’d like to think I’d make the logical and smart choice, but it’s hard when emotions and family are involved.

This is also one of those books that made me question how good the main character actually is at her job. Beyond the first few chapters, we see very little of Vivian doing CIA work at all. Most of her time is spent picking up her kids from daycare and tailing suspicious Russian men. I’m not sure we ever see her put in a full day at the office. For someone whose job is to track Russian operatives, it also felt odd that she neither speaks nor reads Russian.

This book was fine. It might work for you if you like high-stakes thrillers and don’t mind a naïve protagonist making questionable decisions.