An intriguing and engaging espionage tale from Alma Katsu

The Spy Who Vanished is a three-part journey into the political unrest that forces Russia’s most famous spy to choose between his legacy and who he wants to become. Read or listen to each immersive story in a single sitting.

I’m a big fan of Alma Katsu’s spy fiction — I loved Red Widow and Red London, in particular — and so when I saw that the author had written a three-part espionage story for Amazon, I jumped at the chance to read it.

The three short stories that make up The Spy Who Vanished — The Vanishing Man, On Enemy Ground, and Shaken, Not Stirred — follow a curious journey of Yuri Kozlov. Kozlov is one of Russia’s greatest spies (the “Russian James Bond”), with decades of experience and achievements under his belt. He believes himself to be a crucial actor in Russia’s efforts in international relations (he may not be entirely correct), and so when he’s presented with an extremely difficult assignment, he accepts. He is tasked with becoming a double agent. He must give himself up as a defector to the CIA, and work his way into the organization and report back to the Kremlin and his FSB handlers anything that will serve Mother Russia’s agenda.

Defecting during Putin’s war on Ukraine, his American handlers do not entirely trust him, but they can’t give up the opportunity and possibility that one of Russia’s greatest spies might have had enough and want to change sides. The Vanishing Man covers his initial “defection” and the start of his rigorous debriefing and analysis by the CIA. It introduces us to some of the key players in the story, and we get to know just a little bit of Yuri’s background, his strengths and also his weaknesses.

On Enemy Ground expands on readers’ understanding of Kozlov’s background. His continuing debriefing ends up making him confront his past, his relationships, and also forces him to examine his assignment. His interviewers are trying to plunder his past for information about past cases, assassinations, and more, and Yuri’s forced to recall his early missions, as well as decide how much to take credit for. In this middle story, Katsu does a great job of presenting Yuri’s interpretation of his mission, while simultaneously calling into question just how in control he is, and whether or not he has managed to pacify his CIA handlers, and convince them that he has indeed abandoned his Russian loyalties. While still convinced that he is on-mission, there are cracks forming in his mind — is America the enemy? Is Russia right? Are these CIA agents duped?

Shaken, Not Stirred (a surprising title, I’ll admit), further develops Yuri’s mission, and once again digs into his past. The CIA seems to be satisfied with the results of Yuri’s debriefing, and his handlers decide to take him to Jamaica, where he will meet with some high-level American politicians (who are amusingly and sharply characterized by the author). The more time he’s spent in CIA custody, he has drawn close with one of his handlers, whose past is somewhat entangled in his own — she is the daughter of someone at the centre of an early mission of Yuri’s. (Yes, I’m keeping this all vague — no spoilers!) Yuri’s happy to finally be taken back out into the world, and thinks this will offer him an opportunity to show Moscow that he’s still loyal and on-mission. But life and missions rarely offer such neat opportunities, and Yuri is forced to make a decision about where he wants to be, and where his loyalties now lie.

The Spy Who Vanished is a great read. I think I would have preferred a single-volume, novel-length story, but I nevertheless enjoyed this approach to story-telling. Katsu does a great job of slowly developing Yuri’s situation and changing the nature of his life, mission, and loyalties. The author manages to pack in a lot of character-devcopement into this relatively short story. It’s an expertly woven tale, populated by engaging and interesting characters. If you haven’t read any of Katsu’s spy fiction, yet, then this could be an excellent introduction — she’s become one of my must-read authors, and one of my favourite espionage fiction writers.

Definitely recommended.

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Alma Katsu’s The Spy Who Vanished trilogy is out now, published by Amazon Originals in North America and in the UK.

Also on CR: Interview with Alma Katsu (2013); Reviews of Red Widow and Red London

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Review copy received via NetGalley