Review: Who can you trust when it comes to Spies?
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 10, 2013
We again join our Canadian Intelligence Service agents in a fight against terrorism.  Justin and Carrie are being asked to take a role that seems a bit different than what most of us would like to think a field agent would do.  They are being asked to cooperate with the American CIA and also with the Soviets.  Yeah, two spy agencies are approaching the Russians and asking them if they can partner together to uncover a terrorist plot against the United States by Chechen Rebels.Why would the Russians want to do this?  That’s a great question.  Our story starts with the assassination of the Russian Minister of Defense by part of his own security forces.  This particular agent is a sniper who actually is one of the Chechen Terrorist, but one who has been embedded to kill the Defense Minister.That puts Russia on edge.  The U.S. is on edge because they have rumors of a major terrorist strike that is pending on their home soil.  The Canadians?  Well, they have their own problems, but frankly those will take a back seat as the American’s ask them to help with this operation.Justin and Carrie will find themselves attached to the CIA for this operation.  Their contact is a female agent, Becca, who isn’t to excited about this partnership.The rest of the novel will be spent trying to get to be partners with the Russians.  Trying to decide who is a good spy and who is a bad spy.  Also trying to decide who within the Russian KBG or FSB is actually a double agent working for the Americans.There is enough intrigue and deception to keep you guessing.  You will think you figure some things out only to have those things broken apart at the turn of a page.Justin and Carrie will show why they are valuable to this operation through their large network of contacts that can help them work things through.  Also, they will show their resourcefulness when things go bad and the bullets start flying.There is lots of action, lots of intelligence to digest and lots of tension in trying to decide who is good and who isn’t.Ethan Jones does a good job of spinning the details and making you want to keep reading.  He develops his characters well and makes you either love them or hate them, depending on what you should do.  Oh, he can also make you dislike someone but come to realize that maybe, just maybe you should respect them and cheer for them because they are part of solution not the problem.  You don’t have to like them, just acknowledge that they are necessary.I have only two down thoughts about the book.It appears that Ethan is a good Canadian and his use of English is a bit different than mine.  But it is not annoying enough to detract from the story.The ending is shorter than I would have liked.  We have a good build up to the conclusion, but then it seems almost to tidy and cleaned up a bit too quickly.  Not bad, I just might have liked a bit more action and another twenty pages of detail.All in all I am becoming a big Ethan Jones fan.  He has taken the Canadian Intelligence Service and given it some substance and respect.  Something that Americans would normally give a snide comment to.  But Justin and Carrie are serious players who demand respect.Enjoy!