The Peregrine Spy [Hardcover]

Edmund P. Murray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2004

Frank Sullivan, an occasional contract employee of the CIA, has been recruited again-this time for work in an Iran where the Islamic revolution of 1978-79 is already well underway.

Frank's assignment is to work for the Agency under US Air Force cover while officially serving as a propaganda adviser to the Iranian military. As Frank conflicts with an agency bureaucracy seeking field reporting that justifies Washington's already-determined conclusions, he gains a growing awareness of the inadequacy of American intelligence on the revolution's real nature. And as he witnesses the overrunning of the American embassy by militants, he realizes how intertwined his job has become with his life.

Trying to survive a chaotic civil war is the least of Frank's problems as he becomes involved in efforts to recruit a high-level Russian KGB agent and to learn the identity of a mole back at Agency headquarters. But the closer he gets to the objects he pursues, the more likely it becomes that he won't make it out alive.

Set during the final days of the Shah and the consolidation of power under Ayatollah Khomeini, The Peregrine Spy is a stunning novel of a time and place that has never left the public conscious. It is also a keenly told story of the inner workings of the CIA and the extent of its reach.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Murray's third novel (after The Passion Players) is a complex spy story set in 1978- 1979 in Iran around the time of the fall of the Shah and the Islamic revolution. CIA agent Frank Sullivan is sent to Iran to judge the durability of the Shah's regime and the increasing influence of an unknown Islamic cleric named Ayatollah Khomeini, as well as to keep an eye on Soviet activities in the region. Frank, however, has some baggage that will greatly complicate an already hazardous mission. He and the Shah share an unusually friendly and trusting relationship, which angers some dangerous people. Frank must also contend with an old enemy, Soviet KGB agent Vassily Lermontov, a clever spy who may either want to defect or kill Frank, and who suggests there is a high-level mole at CIA headquarters. Frank's cover job is with the Iranian military as a media specialist, and what he learns from the Shah, Lermontov, some informers and a scary group of Iranian air force men scares the daylights out of him. Murray, himself a former media adviser to the Iranian military during the Islamic revolution, masterfully depicts the complexities of intelligence collection, the risks and tension of not trusting anyone (even your own people) and the complicated and deadly combination of politics, religion and hatred that brought down the Shah. Add treachery, assassination, torture, petty bureaucratic bickering and turf battles, and some very clever cloak and dagger tricks, and this spy novel offers exciting history wrapped in thoughtful fiction.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

From the former media advisor to the Iranian military during the Islamic revolution comes a tight, lavishly detailed spy thriller about an advisor to the Iranian military during the Islamic revolution who is really a CIA agent. Frank Sullivan, for whom the phrase "reluctant hero" might have been coined, has a lot on his plate: not only must he keep his cover secure; not only must he try to seduce a KGB agent to change sides; he must also figure out which of his colleagues at CIA headquarters is a traitor. Fans of spy thrillers told with an insider's eye for detail will be absolutely delighted with this one. As a chronicle of the Islamic revolution of the late 1970s, the book is informative and full of the kind of insights only someone intimately familiar with the events could provide. Definitely for the le Carre crowd rather than the more action-oriented Ludlum camp, this is a smart, well-crafted thriller. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; First Edition edition (April 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031230367X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312303679
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,782,951 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Amateaur Hour, May 12, 2007

By 

Thomas W. Mcdermott "RareBurghers" (new york) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Peregrine Spy (Hardcover)

Amateur is sometimes meant to be a compliment, but that is not this reviewer's intention. The subject matter here, Iran, demands a point, otherwise, this would be a 1. This "novel" reads like an early draft and any editor with her salt would have sent the author back to try 3 more times to get the characters to resemble humans and not convenient mouthpieces to give readers information. I have a 100 page rule with thrillers: if it isn't happenning for you in those 100 pages, it isn't going to happen, so you have the right to put it down and begin another book.

I put this down at Page 98. good title, good subject, good timing for subject, poor execution: slap on wrist for editor, if there was one.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping and timely reading, April 1, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Peregrine Spy (Hardcover)

Murray's scary and informative thriller casts a searing light on the fuming Islamic world of the Middle East. The book is about a potentially explosive situation stoked by a horribly misguided US administration that is often fed distorted and conflicting information by an intelligence community blind to truth, ignorant of history and more concerned with infighting than creating a secure world.

Is this book about 1978-79, or today?

The large cast is finely drawn, with each character given telling particulars that are often humorous, sometimes biting, but always essential to revealing the inner person and their contorted motives in a fevered, unsettled time.

"Atmospherics" (in CIA parlance) flowing from Murray's pen put the reader right in the gut of Tehran, abundant with a swirl of sounds, smells and flavors that intoxicate the mind trying to figure out who is to be trusted.

Send a copy to your Congressional representative today!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible, more so, because it is real!, July 11, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Peregrine Spy (Hardcover)

I defer to the other reviewers, who gave 5 stars.
To their reviews I add that this book was so good, I wanted more! To me, that's a sign of an excellent story.
The liner notes on the Hardcover quotes Mario Puzo as saying that Ed Murray is a "born novelist" and Puzo is not exaggerating!
Hopefully, Mr. Murray will give us more of the same in the future!
Thanks for an incredible read; and incredible ride!