SPYCATCHER: A GUEST REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
SPYCATCHER

BY MATTHEW DUNN

ABOUT THE BOOK:

A real life former field officer, Matthew Dunn makes an extraordinary debut with Spycatcher, a masterwork of international espionage fiction that crackles with electrifying authenticity. Fans of Daniel Silva, Robert Ludlum, Brad Thor, and Vince Flynn will be on the edge of their seats as intelligence agent Will Cochrane—working on a joint covert mission for the CIA and MI6—sets out to capture a brilliant and ruthless Iranian spy. Timely and gripping, Spycatcher rockets the reader into a shadowy world of terrorism and counter-terrorism, and holds them in an iron grip until the last pulse-pounding page is turned.  

The most electrifying espionage thriller debut in years—and one of the first in modern memory to be written by a former agent under his own name . . .

Matthew Dunn spent years as an MI6 field operative working on some of the West’s most clandestine missions. He recruited and ran agents, planned and participated in special operations, and operated deep undercover throughout the world. In Spycatcher he draws on this fascinating experience to breathe urgent, dynamic new life into the contemporary spy novel.

Featuring deft and daring superspy Will Cochrane, Dunn paints a nerve-jangling, bracingly authentic picture of today’s secret world. It is a place where trust is precious and betrayal is cheap—and where violent death is the reward for being outplayed by your enemy.

Will Cochrane, the CIA’s and MI6’s most prized asset and deadliest weapon, has known little outside this world since childhood. And he’s never been outplayed. So far . . . 

Will’s controllers task him with finding and neutralizing one of today’s most wanted terrorist masterminds, a man believed to be an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general. Intending to use someone from the man’s past to flush him out of the shadows, Will believes he has the perfect plan, but he soon discovers, in a frantic chase from the capitals of Europe to New York City, that his adversary has more surprises in store and is much more treacherous than anyone he has ever faced—and survived—up to now. 

PRAISE FOR SPYCATCHER:

“Great talent, great imagination, and real been-there done-that authenticity make this one of the year’s best thriller debuts.”
—Lee Child 

“Not since Fleming charged Bond with the safety of the world has the international secret agent mystique been so anchored with an insider’s reality.”
—Noah Boyd, New York Times bestselling author of Agent X and The Bricklayer 

“A real spy proves he is a real writer—and a truly deft and inventive one. Spycatcher is a stunning debut.”
—Ted Bell, New York Times bestselling author of Warlord
 "Once in a while an espionage novelist comes along who has the smack of utter authenticity. Few are as daring as Matthew Dunn, fewer still as up-to-date. This isn’t the Cold War, this isn’t even the last ten years, it’s the CIA and MI6 as they are now.”

— John Lawton, author of A Lily of the Field and Black Out

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Matthew Dunn spent 5 years in the British Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6, as a field operative. His role required him to recruit and run agents, coordinate and participate in special operations, and to operate in deep-cover roles throughout the world in order to collect secret intelligence to support the West’s ongoing fight against hostile and unpredictable regimes, state-sponsored terrorism, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. His missions required him to travel extensively and typically he operated in highly hostile environments where, if compromised and captured, he would have been executed.

Matthew was trained in all aspects of intelligence collection and direct action including agent running and debriefing, deep-cover deployments, small-arms, explosives, military unarmed combat, surveillance, anti-surveillance, counter-surveillance, advanced driving, infiltration and exfiltration techniques, and covert communications. His skills were widely deployed by him in the field. Matthew typically worked alone but he also had significant experience of working with highly-specialized units of the British SAS and SBS as well as joint-operations with MI5, GCHQ, the CIA, and BND.

Matthew was security cleared to the very highest level in Britain.  Because of the nature of his work in MI6, Matthew is bound by a life-long pledge of secrecy regarding his methods of work, agents, missions and overall knowledge of the British Intelligence community and its allies.  He remains in close contact with MI6 and will never breach its trust in him. 

Medals are never awarded to modern MI6 officers, but Matthew was the recipient of a very rare personal commendation from the Secretary of State For Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs for work he did on one mission which was deemed so significant that it directly influenced the successful conclusion of a major international incident.

During his time in MI6, Matthew conducted approximately seventy missions. All of them were successful.

He is the author of the contemporary spy novel Spycatcher.

GUEST REVIEW:

Welcome to Guest Reviewer Steve Capell and please enjoy Steve's review of SPYCATCHER. If you haven't seen any of Steve's reviews on my blog before, check out some like THE CUT or THE SILENT GIRL.   You can also see Steve's reviews on his own blog at TRUE MEDIA SOLUTIONS. Steve is a family man who loves to read and spend time with his lovely wife where they live in the Kansas City area.

Spycatcher is the debut novel of Matthew Dunn, a former MI6 field officer. The protagonist character is Will Cochrane, the top MI6 agent who finds himself working mainly as his own boss but reporting to a joint MI6 and CIA higher command. Cochrane is on a mission to capture an Iranian terrorist mastermind by the name of Megiddo with the help of some of the elitist American operatives from the Navy SEALs, the Green Berets and Delta Force. Megiddo is so masterful and cunning that Cochrane has made up his mind that Megiddo death is both personal and also good for the world.

My thoughts.

I kept moving this novel back and reading others and now I wonder why. I really did enjoy this spy novel. Matthew Dunn obviously has the back ground and expertise to write a crime novel involving international espionage. I found the core story line to weave a tale of darkness and despair that kept me on the edge of seat through out the novel. The twists and turns especially at the end of this novel really added to the drama.  I liked the character development that Matthew Dunn did for Will Cochrane and I would have liked to seen more dialog and character development for Megiddo. The one area that I found hard to swallow was the amount of times Cochrane was shot, stabbed, chocked, hit, and kicked and was still able to go on with the mission. He must have been a super human ... needless to say I felt that the character lost some realism because of his ability to withstand almost anything that Megiddo threw at him.  I found the descriptions very vivid, and the emotions very raw. I look forward to Matthew Dunn's next novel.

I have given this novel a 4 rating out of 5.

Who should read this novel.

Anyone that likes mystery spy type novels will love this one.  While the novel is fiction I somehow felt that Matthew Dunn may have been involved in similar situations that this novel presents so if you would like to get a flavor of international espionage this will be must read.
 
In accordance with new FTC guidelines regarding endorsements and testimonials for bloggers I am disclosing the following: This book was provided by the publisher and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

GIVEAWAY

THANK YOU TO CHELSEY AND MY GOOD
FRIENDS AT HARPER COLLINS FOR A 
COPY OF SPYCATCHER THAT I AM ABLE
TO OFFER AS A GIVEAWAY TO ONE 
LUCKY READER OF MY BLOG

 
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