A Spy S Wife

Janet Coggin discovered after eight years of marriage that her husband was a spy—when he was arrested by the FBI. This is the true story of what happened to her and her children as she fled to start a new life in Ireland.

The Good Spy Wife is a story of aging FBI agent, Gunter Martini, as told by his wife, Bootsie. The saga begins with her suspicions that the next-door neighbor, Alexander, is a Russian agent. The reader is drawn into the drama as the story explodes along with the cigarette boat when Gunter dares to venture out for a boat ride to Bomb Island on the 50,000 acres Lake Murray on the night of a impending hurricane. His drowning is dubious, as no body floats to the surface. The wife trusts in God and believes that he is alive. When he reappears later in the Soviet Union he invites his wife to join him as he works toward an assignment involving the elimination of the American president, as the Soviet country believes the President of the United States and his democratic ideals stand in the way of progress for the Soviet Union. He must die, as the current leadership in America is an affront for growth of the new Russia. Set during the Cold War in the late 1980s, Bootsie and Gunter struggle with separation during difficult times in their own marriage. Bootsie grows spiritually through the unexplained meeting of strangers who appear to her as angels, and through drawing on her own strengths when alone. Ultimately, after many twists and turns of the story, the couple realizes that God is the only help for the frailty of their lives, and each makes plans to rebuild his or her life around their new beliefs. However, will this turn out to be the happy conclusion? One can only discover this knowledge through reading the book.

"A unique collection of ture stories, anecdotes, and observations about life overseas recorded by spouses, former spouses and offspring of CIA operatives."--Cover.

A “splendidly sharp . . . mix of espionage, wifely identity crisis, and unlikely romance” by the author of the Dalziel and Pascoe mysteries (Kirkus Reviews). Best known for his Dalziel and Pascoe novels, which were adapted into a hit BBC series, Reginald Hill proves himself to be a “master of . . . cerebral puzzle mysteries” in his stand-alone thrillers as well—now available as ebooks (The New York Times). Molly Keatley is a happy housewife living comfortably day-to-day in Westcliff-on-Sea. That changes in a heartbeat when her husband, Sam, grabs his suitcase, offers a hurried “I love you,” sprints out the door, and disappears from her life. Then, a British agent invites himself in with shattering news: Sam is a Soviet spy and traitor. And his secrets don’t end there. Though her dream life has been upended by an unforgivable betrayal, Molly won’t be intimidated. Not by Sam’s unstable mistress, not by British Intelligence, nor by Sam’s colleagues, who are watching every move she makes. But when she receives a surreptitious invitation from Sam to join him in Bucharest, Molly’s life will change once again as she discovers the nature of his lies, the consequences of deception, and the truth about her own desires. Reginald Hill has crafted a “terrific, suspenseful tale and an extraordinary heroine” (Cleveland Plain-Dealer).

This is a lively, readable, and informative account of life in Moscow by the wife of a Canadian military attaché who witnessed the last days of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War Janice Cowan was trained by the Canadian government for her role in Moscow. She and her husband went to spy school in Canada to learn how to gather intelligence for her country. She put this into practice as they lived and traveled in the former Soviet Union. She was in the thick of events during the coup against Gorbachev in 1991, and the attempted coup against Yeltsin in 1993. In her account of this experience, she offers fascinating insights into spycraft in the nineties as well as lively anecdotes and stories about the role of an 'official wife'. Janice Cowan traveled widely, visiting many cities in Russia and learning about many of the now-independent countries. She took a job on an independent English-language Moscow newspaper which gave her the inside track on politics while Russia was emerging from the ruins of the Soviet Union. This book is a unique story, told from a unique viewpoint, of a key period in Russian history. It offers a rare inside look into the world of contemporary Canadian diplomacy abroad.

From the award-winning author of Safe Houses—an "intelligent, tense and sharply written espionage thriller” (Wall Street Journal) about a CIA agent and a young expat who find themselves caught up in a dangerous world, whose secrets, if revealed, could have disastrous repercussions for them both. When CIA agent Claire Saylor is told that she’ll be going undercover in Hamburg to pose as the wife of an academic who has published a controversial interpretation of the Quran’s promise to martyrs, she assumes the job is a punishment for past unorthodox behavior. But when she discovers her team leader is Paul Bridger, another Agency maverick, she realizes there may be more to this mission than meets the eye—and not just for professional reasons. Meanwhile, across town in Hamburg, Mahmoud, a recent Moroccan émigré, begins to fall under the sway of a group of radicals at his local mosque. The deeper he’s drawn into the group, the greater the danger he faces, and he is soon torn between his obligations to them and his feelings toward a beautiful Westernized Muslim woman. As Claire learns the truth about her mission, and Mahmoud grows closer to the radicals, the danger between them builds and spells disaster far beyond the CIA.

Robert Baer was known inside the CIA as perhaps the best operative working the Middle East. Over several decades he served everywhere from Iraq to New Delhi and racked up such an impressive list of accomplishments that he was eventually awarded the Career Intelligence Medal. But if his career was everything a spy might aspire to, his personal life was a brutal illustration of everything a spy is asked to sacrifice. Bob had few enduring non-work friendships, only contacts and acquaintances. His prolonged absences destroyed his marriage, and he felt intense guilt at spending so little time with his children. Sworn to secrecy and constantly driven by ulterior motives, he was a man apart wherever he went. Dayna Williamson thought of herself as just an ordinary California girl -- admittedly one born into a comfortable lifestyle. But she was always looking to get closer to the edge. When she joined the CIA, she was initially tasked with Agency background checks, but the attractive Berkeley graduate quickly distinguished herself as someone who could thrive in the field, and she was eventually assigned to “Protective Operations” training where she learned to handle weapons and explosives and conduct high-speed escape and evasion. Tapped to serve in some of the world's most dangerous places, she discovered an inner strength and resourcefulness she'd never known -- but she also came to see that the spy life exacts a heavy toll. Her marriage crumbled, her parents grew distant, and she lost touch with friends who'd once meant everything to her. When Bob and Dayna met on a mission in Sarajevo, it wasn't love at first sight. They were both too jaded for that. But there was something there, a spark. And as the danger escalated and their affection for each other grew, they realized it was time to leave “the Company,” to somehow rediscover the people they’d once been. As worldly as both were, the couple didn’t realize at first that turning in their Agency I.D. cards would not be enough to put their covert past behind. The fact was, their clandestine relationships remained. Living as “civilians” in conflict-ridden Beirut, they fielded assassination proposals, met with Arab sheiks, wily oil tycoons, terrorists, and assorted outlaws – and came perilously close to dying. But even then they couldn’t know that their most formidable challenge lay ahead. Simultaneously a trip deep down the intelligence rabbit hole – one that shows how the “game” actually works, including the compromises it asks of those who play by its rules -- and a portrait of two people trying to regain a normal life, The Company We Keep is a masterly depiction of the real world of shadows.

Evie, a widow and stationmaster's daughter, can't help but look out for the weekly visit of the handsome man she and her sister call the Southerner on their train platform in the wilds of northern England. When polite salutations shift to friendly conversations, they become captivated by each other. After so much sorrow, the childless Evie can't believe love and the chance for her own family have come into her life again.With rumours coming out of Germany that Hitler may be stirring up war, local English authorities have warned against spies. Even Evie becomes suspicious of her new suitor, Roger. But all is not what it seems.When Roger is arrested, Evie comes up with an audacious plan to prove his innocence that means moving to Germany and working as a British counter-spy. Wearing the disguise of dutiful, naïve wife, Evie must charm the Nazi Party's dangerous officials to bring home hard evidence of war mongering on the Führer's part.But in this game of cat and mouse, it seems everyone has an ulterior motive, and Evie finds it impossible to know who to trust. With lives on the line, ultimate sacrifices will be made as she wrestles between her patriotism and saving the man she loves.From the windswept moors of the Yorkshire dales to the noisy beer halls of Munich and grand country estates in the picture-book Bavarian mountains, this is a lively and high-stakes thriller that will keep you second-guessing until the very end.