Beirut Station: Two Lives of a Spy: A Novel
Paul Vidich
(Author)
Description
A stunning new espionage novel by a master of the genre, Beirut Station follows a young female CIA officer whose mission to assassinate a high-level, Hezbollah terrorist reveals a dark truth that puts her life at risk. Lebanon, 2006. The Israel-Hezbollah war is tearing Beirut apart: bombs are raining down, residents are scrambling to evacuate, and the country is on the brink of chaos. In the midst of this turmoil, the CIA and Mossad are targeting a reclusive Hezbollah terrorist, Najib Qassem. Najib is believed to be planning the assassination of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is coming to Beirut in ten days to broker a cease-fire. The spy agencies are running out of time to eliminate the threat. They turn to a young Lebanese-American CIA agent. Analise comes up with the perfect plan: she has befriended Qassem's grandson as his English tutor, and will use this friendship to locate the terrorist and take him out. As the plan is put into action, though, Analise begins to suspect that Mossad has a motive of its own: exploiting the war's chaos to eliminate a generation of Lebanese political leaders. She alerts the agency but their response is for her to drop it. Analise is now the target and there is no one she can trust: not the CIA, not Mossad, and not the Lebanese government. And the one person she might have to trust--a reporter for the New York Times--might not be who he says he is... A tightly-wound international thriller, Beirut Station is Paul Vidich's best novel to date.Product Details
Price
$27.95
$25.99
Publisher
Pegasus Crime
Publish Date
October 03, 2023
Pages
304
Dimensions
6.0 X 9.0 X 0.91 inches | 1.21 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9781639365111
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About the Author
Paul Vidich is the acclaimed author of The Matchmaker, The Mercenary, The Coldest Warrior, An Honorable Man, and The Good Assassin. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, LitHub, CrimeReads, Fugue, The Nation, Narrative Magazine, and Wordriot. He lives in New York City.
Reviews
Praise for The Matchmaker: A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice
"With a capable female protagonist, Vidich brings a modern sensibility to the complex machinations of the traditional spy novel."--Becky Meloan "The Washington Post"
"A woman's life takes a stunning turn and a wall comes tumbling down in this tense Cold War spy drama. Intrigue, murder, and vengeance make for a darkly enjoyable read."-- "Kirkus Reviews"
"Readers interested in learning more about the Stasi should look for Paul Vidich's novel The Matchmaker, [which is] tightly written and carefully plotted. It grabs you in the first pages and never lets go."--J. E. Leonardson, CIA's Studies in Intelligence
"Shades of Graham Greene, Eric Ambler and John le Carré hover over the pages of Paul Vidich's The Matchmaker, a Cold War thriller set in West and East Berlin in the eventful years of 1989 and '90. The innovative Mr. Vidich subverts expectations in ways that surprise."--Tom Nolan "The Wall Street Journal"
"There is a casual elegance to Vidich's spy fiction, a seeming effortlessness that belies his superior craftsmanship. Every plot point, character motivation and turn of phrase veers toward the understated, but they are never underwritten. The Matchmaker is an ideal entrance into Vidich's work, one that should compel new readers to plumb his backlist."--Sarah Weinman "The New York Times Book Review"
"With a great narrative and powerful plot twists, the story comes to life and all is slowly revealed by the final chapter. This surely lives up to the standards of Graham Greene and John le Carré, as denoted in the dust jacket blurb. Kudos, Mr. Vidich, for an entertaining read that left me reminiscing of the days of the Cold War."-- "Mystery and Suspense Magazine"
"Vidich adds a welcome feminist twist to the familiar espionage theme of human lives trapped in the vice of competing and equally ruthless governments. From An Honorable Man (2016) through The Mercenary (2021), Vidich has established his position in the forefront of contemporary espionage novelists."-- "Booklist
"The strength of the book is the recounting of historical events, many now forgotten or having occurred in another generation. Vidich vividly describes protests in the street and the suspenseful hours as East Berliners learn the order had been given to open the border. History, it appears, is worth studying, for the lessons it delivers."--Authorlink
"The Matchmaker is an intelligent, atmospheric, richly written and quietly gripping spy novel. Vidich also deals sensitively with real moral issues around spying and there is a depth to his themes. In all, it is a very impressive achievement. It is still very early in the year, but I think that The Matchmaker will end up being one of the best spy novels of the year." - Jeff Popple, Murder, Mayhem and Long Dogs "The absorbing drama/mystery takes hold of your attention as Anne's plight unfolds. The looming fall of the Berlin Wall intertwined with the fate of Anne and the spy she's tasked with finding make for a riveting read."--Philip Zozzaro "The Manhattan Book Review"
"With a capable female protagonist, Vidich brings a modern sensibility to the complex machinations of the traditional spy novel."--Becky Meloan "The Washington Post"
"A woman's life takes a stunning turn and a wall comes tumbling down in this tense Cold War spy drama. Intrigue, murder, and vengeance make for a darkly enjoyable read."-- "Kirkus Reviews"
"Readers interested in learning more about the Stasi should look for Paul Vidich's novel The Matchmaker, [which is] tightly written and carefully plotted. It grabs you in the first pages and never lets go."--J. E. Leonardson, CIA's Studies in Intelligence
"Shades of Graham Greene, Eric Ambler and John le Carré hover over the pages of Paul Vidich's The Matchmaker, a Cold War thriller set in West and East Berlin in the eventful years of 1989 and '90. The innovative Mr. Vidich subverts expectations in ways that surprise."--Tom Nolan "The Wall Street Journal"
"There is a casual elegance to Vidich's spy fiction, a seeming effortlessness that belies his superior craftsmanship. Every plot point, character motivation and turn of phrase veers toward the understated, but they are never underwritten. The Matchmaker is an ideal entrance into Vidich's work, one that should compel new readers to plumb his backlist."--Sarah Weinman "The New York Times Book Review"
"With a great narrative and powerful plot twists, the story comes to life and all is slowly revealed by the final chapter. This surely lives up to the standards of Graham Greene and John le Carré, as denoted in the dust jacket blurb. Kudos, Mr. Vidich, for an entertaining read that left me reminiscing of the days of the Cold War."-- "Mystery and Suspense Magazine"
"Vidich adds a welcome feminist twist to the familiar espionage theme of human lives trapped in the vice of competing and equally ruthless governments. From An Honorable Man (2016) through The Mercenary (2021), Vidich has established his position in the forefront of contemporary espionage novelists."-- "Booklist
"The strength of the book is the recounting of historical events, many now forgotten or having occurred in another generation. Vidich vividly describes protests in the street and the suspenseful hours as East Berliners learn the order had been given to open the border. History, it appears, is worth studying, for the lessons it delivers."--Authorlink
"The Matchmaker is an intelligent, atmospheric, richly written and quietly gripping spy novel. Vidich also deals sensitively with real moral issues around spying and there is a depth to his themes. In all, it is a very impressive achievement. It is still very early in the year, but I think that The Matchmaker will end up being one of the best spy novels of the year." - Jeff Popple, Murder, Mayhem and Long Dogs "The absorbing drama/mystery takes hold of your attention as Anne's plight unfolds. The looming fall of the Berlin Wall intertwined with the fate of Anne and the spy she's tasked with finding make for a riveting read."--Philip Zozzaro "The Manhattan Book Review"
