The Book of Spies [Kindle Edition]

Gayle Lynds (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A legendary library, containing written works dating back to ancient Rome and Greece, forms the tantalizing background of this winning thriller from bestseller Lynds (The Last Spymaster). When The Book of Spies, one of the bejeweled volumes of the Library of Gold (a rare book archive people have sought for centuries) surfaces, the CIA links a terrorist plot with the library and a cabal of powerful men who have been its keepers. Rare-book expert Eva Blake and former intelligence agent Judd Ryder have personal reasons for joining in the hunt for the library. Eva, released from prison for vehicular manslaughter in the death of her husband, learns that her husband, an authority on the library, is alive. A sniper shot Judd's father, a CIA agent, soon after the father claimed to have learned important information from the library. These two complicated, appealing characters complement the satisfying, conspiracy-laden plot that smoothly moves throughout Europe at breakneck speed. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

Ivan the Terrible, the sixteenth-century Russian czar, had, or so the legend goes, a vast library filled with gold- and jewel-covered books. It was lost to history, but now the CIA has uncovered a terrorist bank account that could lead to the Library of Gold (the novel's title refers to one of the books in the library). The company turns to Eva Blake, a rare-book collector with a troubled past; as the story opens, she's about to go to prison for a drunk-driving incident that took her husband's life. Sprung early from prison, Eva teams up with Judd Ryder, a former intelligence agent with his own troubled past, and the two of them try to uncover the secrets of the lost library. The book is fast paced and exciting, but it's a bit overwritten: the author has loaded her characters up with a lot of baggage, and readers may wonder whether it's all necessary. They might also wonder how it is that an expert in rare books has never heard of the Library of Gold. But these are small quibbles; the book is, overall, a solid adventure yarn. --David Pitt

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 671 KB
• Print Length: 398 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0312380895
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; Reprint edition (April 1, 2010)
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B003DX0HZY
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,388 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Welcome to my author page. I'm the New York Times bestselling author of award-winning international espionage novels -- spy thrillers -- but when I was growing up, I had no idea ordinary people wrote books. I thought that was the literary turf of dead people, and if not them, then certainly gods and goddesses.

Despite my youthful conclusions, I still dreamed of creating the sorts of novels that would transport people to other worlds, other experiences, and leave them not only truly satisfied but feeling smarter, as I did when I read a really good tale.

Today I've published some eight novels, with a ninth on the way -- The Book of Spies, due out March 30, 2010, from St. Martin's Press. How did I get so lucky? I began writing literary short stories that were published in small journals. The discipline propelled me onward, and here I am today, creating adventure stories about London and Paris, Washington, D.C. and Rome. With me you can travel the world in my books, examining the clandestine world of spies, criminals, and secret power that quietly and importantly impacts all of us.

Some basic facts. My books have won such awards as "Novel of the Year" (THE LAST SPYMASTER) given by the Military Writers Society of America and the American Authors Associations, and have been People magazine "Page-Turner of the Week" and "Beach Read of the Week." Publishers Weekly lists MASQUERADE as among the top ten spy novels of all time. BookPage concurs: "Gayle Lynds has joined the deified ranks of spy thriller authors like Robert Ludlum and John le Carre." With Bob Ludlum, I created the Covert-One series and wrote three of the novels. One of them, THE HADES FACTOR, was a CBS miniseries in April 2006.

I'm a member of the Association for Intelligence Officers and co-founder and former co-president (with David Morrell) of International Thriller Writers. Born in Nebraska, raised in Iowa, I now live on the side of a hill in Southern California.

Thank you for dropping by. Please visit my website at www.GayleLynds.com to test your Spy-Q, visit my World of Espionage, and sign up for cool prizes.

Warm regards, Gayle

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Way too unbelievable, May 29, 2011

By 

TechDawgMc "techdawgmc" (Temple, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Spies (Hardcover)

There are a lot of smart, educated people in this story. Unfortunately, almost all of the movement in the story seems to happen because of those smart people doing unbelievably dumb things.

Sadly, this seems to be the state of thriller writing today. Create a lot of cliff hanging and make sure the action never stops and it must be a great read, right? Well, no. Not when you constantly find yourself shaking your head and saying "no way that would happen." It's kind of sad, really, because the concept of the book isn't bad, but the execution definitely is (bad, that is).

Over and over again in the story there are "why would they do that?" incidents and "not a chance that would work" moments. Most of the time the heroes seem incapable of thinking of anything, and then--when they need a miracle--they seem positively clairvoyant. It's a weird combination.

I'll grant that the book isn't boring. I almost stopped on it three or four times because of the number of ridiculous elements, but I wasn't ever bored. It's just not very good. There are better ways to spend your time.

10 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good International Spy Thriller., March 9, 2010

By 

Philip R. Heath "Gadgets, Music, & Books" (DFW) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Book of Spies (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

The Book of Spies is Gayle Lynds' spy/thriller novel, and it is an enjoyable read. The story is based on the Library of Gold which was Ivan the Terrible's collection of original works dating back throughout history which disappeared after his death. The Book of Spies is one of the manuscripts, and it has turned up in Lynds' novel that bears its name. The two central characters of the story are Eva Blake (a library/museum curator specializing in ancient manuscripts) and Judd Blake (a former military intelligence officer). The CIA is interested in The Book of Spies as there is thought to be a link to funding of terrorists, and they need the expertise of someone such as Eva to help them find the connection. They also bring in Blake to help as he has personal reasons to pursue the Library of Gold. The story that unfolds takes readers from North American to Europe and various parts of Asia. The story of the Library of Gold is one that conspiracy theory lovers will enjoy greatly. Using short chapters averaging about 5 pages each Lynds paces the story at a quick pace while walking the fine line between giving too much information and frustrating the reader. At times the plot twists were predictable, but overall I found the story compelling. The thing that I found with this novel that I haven't in a lot of others was that I felt strongly about the good guys and the bad guys. While the characters are not overly developed (but this isn't a character study), there weren't many that I was lukewarm about. Even though there are ties to terrorists, the primary focus of the story is the Library of Gold. The two things that keep this from being outstanding to me are the beginning and the end. The first three chapters covered three years in fifteen pages. The remainder of the main story takes place over a matter of weeks. It would have been nice to smooth this out a little bit as the first chapters form an impression in the reader's mind what to expect. I also thought the end of the story was a little anti-climactic and played out "by the book". All in all, though, The Book of Spies is a very enjoyable read. If you like espionage and conspiracy thrillers, give this a try.

Overall: B

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Exciting thriller, December 12, 2010

By 

Book Him Danno "Book Him Danno" (Austin, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Spies (Hardcover)

This is my kind of book, an exciting thriller. Constant action, gun fights, evil genius, secret passageways, twists and turns, corrupt officials, innocent civilians, international travel, spies and a bit of romance. A few things felt unfinished and confusing, but the book as a whole was good and fast to read. I would give it 3 1/2 stars if I could; it was a hard choice between 3 and 4.

Slight Dan Brown, Robert Ludlum, type writing. Spies galore and a bit of 24, no one trusts anyone else. If you like action packed thrillers, this is the book for you.