Cloaks and Veils
CIA operative Dara McIntyre’s career has taken a nosedive. Because of a romantic relationship with her Jordanian counterpart, Tariq Bataineh, and suspicion of leaking secrets, Dara has been pulled from her post as second in command in Amman and sent back to Langley, where she’s a desk jockey doing audits. She’s also asked to mentor fellow employee Caitlin Wolff, recently widowed when her husband, Jonathan, a fair-haired boy at the agency, was kidnapped in Dubai by terrorists, who recorded his assassination. As intuitive interrogator Dara learns about a secret operation undertaken by the Wolffs, she travels to the Mideast and Europe and follows leads back to headquarters, forcing her to wonder just who she can trust. Carleson, a former undercover CIA officer who traveled to global hot spots, presents an intelligence agency whose director circumvents legal restraints, using a rogue operative who gets out of control. This is cloak-and-dagger spycraft with a side of romance, fine if disquieting escapist fare with a canny and capable protagonist who’s likely to be heard from again. — Michele Leber