Moscow X

A Novel

By: David McCloskey

Narrated by: Andrew B. Wehrlen

A daring CIA operation threatens chaos in the Kremlin. But can Langley trust the Russian at its center?

CIA officers Sia and Max enter Russia under commercial cover to recruit Vladimir Putin's moneyman. Sia works for a London law firm that conceals the wealth of the superrich. Max's family business in Mexico—a CIA front since the 1960s—is a farm that breeds high-end racehorses. They pose as a couple to target Vadim, Putin's private banker, and his wife, Anna, who—unbeknownst to CIA—is a Russian intelligence officer under deep cover at the bank. As they descend further into a Russian world dripping with luxury and rife with gangland violence, Sia and Max's only hope may be Anna, who is playing a game of her own.

Careening between the horse ranch in northern Mexico, the corridors of Langley, and the dark opulence of Putin's Russia, Moscow X is both a gripping thriller of modern espionage and a raw, unsparing commentary on the nature of truth, loyalty, and vengeance amid the shadow war between the United States and Russia.

©2023 David McCloskey (P)2023 Tantor

Long slow trog to nowhere

I have enjoyed David's 2 other books, and Proctor is the star. This book she took a backseat until late in the book. The lead up was slow and overly detailed for no reason. You get lost trying to figure out who is who with so many stories. There is a lot of sex! Not mad about it, but not sure why. And the narrator can't pronounce Riesling! It is NOT Ri-sling, it's RE-sling. That withstanding, I would recommend to skip this one.

An Excellent Second Book!!!

I cannot wait for the next book in this series. It is on par with Dave Mathews Red Sparrow series, please keep this one going! Proctor is a legend!

One of the best books I've ever listened to

Maybe I give 5s as ratings too often and so my 5s for this book don't capture how unbelievably good this was. The narrator - incredible in every way. All the voices. All the languages. All the nuances. Incredible. The story - It was impossible to stop listening. Nearly 15 hours were listened to in just over 2 days (and I still worked but filled every other moment I could with listening to this book. Heartstopping and my brain still hasn't stopped thinking about it since I finished it last weekend. The craft of the writing was also perfection. Both the author and his editors must have carefully, carefully thought about every single word. There were no extra words or sentences. Each individual word was needed.

Enjoyable storyline.

Unfortunately, the narrator made everybody sound snarky. A more serious sounding narrator would’ve made the book seem more real. As it was, it seemed tongue and cheek. Still enjoyed it, but would not use this narrator again.

Present Day Putin conspiracy

Slow start. Had to speed it up for the first 1/2 of the book.