Customer Reviews

The Spy with a Clean Face

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4 star:		(1)
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Russell Miller's book, The Spy with a Clean Face, follows corporate executive, occasional CIA operative Charlie Connelly through Latin America, Asia and eventually to the dead zone of Chernobyl. Connelly's credentials as an international businessman makes the perfect cover as the CIA utilizes his high sense of patriotism and his ability to travel legitimately to maneuver him as they deem necessary.
Miller's highly descriptive prose combined with a vast knowledge of locations balances his book gracefully between adventure, history and travel guide. It also provides you a glimpse into the treacherous world of espionage without the overly ambitious plots or unbelievable characters found in similar books. Miller's abundant use of impressive descriptions combined with a thinking man's plot will keep you reading. Highly recommended.

Tony Lazzarini
President
Military Writers Society of America

The Spy with a Clean Face
by Russell Miller

As the Soviet Union disintegrated, Ukraine was left weapons rich and cash poor. While Russia and the west vied for political influence of the country, opportunists acted to turn a quick profit on weapons sales to unstable middle-east factions. Charley Connelly, a career international sales executive has become an unsuspecting agent for the CIA and is now called upon to intercede in a dangerous game for which he is ill prepared. Miller takes us on a whirlwind romp through Latin America and the Middle East to a nail biting conclusion in the shadow of Chernobyl. Miller's insight and experience have made him a mast of his craft.

American Authors Association review...
If you like thrillers, The Spy With a Clean Face is one you don't want to miss. This could have easily been called The Reluctant Spy as the hero, a very normal corporate executive with a wife and kids is enticed by the CIA to become a spy.
The hero, Charlie Connelly, is thrust into one adventure after another in many different exotic and not so exotic places all over the globe. Though he is successful in doing what the CIA wants him to do, things don't happen for him the way you might expect, making this a most unusual novel. As you follow along with Connelly, you'll anxiously keep turning pages to find out what misadventure he gets into next.
Highly recommended.

This book was reviewed by American Authors Association member: Marilyn Meredith, author of Kindred Spirits, a Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery

An average corporate executive living in a quite suburb has a past in the CIA. Charlie Connelly is about to find himself working on a NGO project in recently independent Ukraine during the Orange Revolution when the Agency again contacts him. His mission is to find and eliminate a defecting American spy before he concludes the sale to Iran of Ukrainian owned missiles. In an intriguing first fictional novel, author Russell R. Miller, takes you on a realistic journey of espionage, foreign territory, and history. Miller's extensive travels to over a 100 countries and knowledge as an international executive enhance the richness of the story without creating an unrealistic or unbelievable plot. Masterfully written in a down to earth tone, Miller delivers an intriguing novel for readers of every kind. Miller has authored three previous works, including Journey to a Closed City (non-fiction). Recommended for adult readers.

Tonya Thul-Theis
Reviewer