The Colonel's Mistake (A Mark Sava Spy Novel)
Mark Sava is teaching international relations in Baku, Azerbaijan, and the former CIA station chief for Azerbaijan doesn’t miss his old life at all. But when Daria Buckingham, one of his former field operatives, is arrested, and almost all the station’s operational staff are murdered, he rejoins the Agency as a contractor. The machinations he uncovers reach the highest levels of the U.S. and Iranian governments, and Sava finds himself on the run in Iran, Iraq, Dubai, and Paris. Author Mayland handles this debut novel (and first of a series) with the aplomb of a veteran. He makes oil-rich, little-known Azerbaijan a fascinating locale for the “latest incarnation of the Great Game.” Sava’s transformation from complacent professor to hard-edged, combative spook is skillfully handled, and the explication of Azerbaijan’s importance in the geopolitics of oil recalls the knowing thrillers of David Ignatius. There’s also plenty of action, and a violent denouement. Espionage-thriller fans won’t want to miss this one. — Thomas Gaughan