Awards

• Short-listed for Edgar Allan Poe Awards (Best First Novel) 2024

Overview

"EDGAR AWARD NOMINEE FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker - NPR - The Diplomatic Courier - Deadly Pleasures mystery magazine - The Cipher Brief - Spybrary During the Arab Spring, an American spy's final mission goes dangerously awry in this ""crackling debut thriller"" (The New Yorker) from a former CIA officer that Joseph Weisberg, creator of The Americans, calls ""the most realistic espionage story I've read."" Shane Collins, a world-weary CIA spy, is ready to come in from the cold. Stationed in Bahrain off the coast of Saudi Arabia for his final tour, he has little use for his mission--uncovering Iranian support for the insurgency against the monarchy. Then Collins meets Almaisa, a beautiful and enigmatic artist, and his eyes are opened to a side of Bahrain most expats never experience, to questions he never thought to ask. When his trusted informant inside the opposition becomes embroiled in a murder, Collins finds himself drawn deep into the conflict. His budding romance with Almaisa--and his loyalties--are upended; in an instant, he's caught in the crosswinds of a revolution. Drawing on all his skills as a spymaster, he sets out to learn the truth behind the Arab Spring, win Almaisa's love, and uncover the murky border where Bahrain's secrets end and America's begin."

Full Product Details

9781982194550

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Reviews

"""The Peacock and the Sparrow is that rare thing: a genuine page turner that also has something to say. A sharp, knowing look at today's CIA, with the moral complexities of the best spy fiction and a Persian Gulf setting so richly detailed and immediate you feel you could reach out and touch it. A remarkable debut."" --Joseph Kanon, New York Times bestselling author of Istanbul Passage and The Berlin Exchange ""I.S. Berry absolutely nails the psyche of case officers in this examination of life in the clandestine service. From the pitch-perfect opening to the stunning twist at the end, The Peacock and the Sparrow is gorgeously written with a surefootedness rarely seen in a debut. Sure to be a new classic among spy novels."" --Alma Katsu, former CIA officer and author of Red London ""Not since The Spy Who Came in from the Cold has there been such a riveting and thought-provoking story of international espionage. In the tradition of John le Carre and Graham Greene, former spy Berry has woven a twisted, richly evocative tale--one that plunges the reader into the depths of the Arab Spring and the blackest recesses of human nature. A breathless tour-de-force that smuggles the reader from the souks of Bahrain to the simmering streets of Phnom Penh, Berry's debut delivers the perfect spy tale."" --Ian Caldwell, New York Times bestselling author of The Fifth Gospel ""Outstanding...The plot's many twists will captivate readers, and Berry's gorgeous prose is its own reward with echoes of le Carré and Graham Greene."" --Publisher's Weekly (starred review)"

Author Information

I.S. Berry spent six years as an operations officer for the CIA, serving in wartime Baghdad and elsewhere. She has lived and worked throughout Europe and the Middle East, including two years in Bahrain during the Arab Spring. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and Haverford College. Raised in the suburbs of Washington, DC, she lives in Virginia with her husband and son.

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