Long before the waterboarding controversy exploded in the media, one CIA agent had already gone public. In a groundbreaking 2007 interview with ABC News, John Kiriakou called waterboarding torture—but admitted that it probably worked. This book, at once a confessional, an adventure story, and a chronicle of Kiriakou’s life in the CIA, stands as an important, eloquent piece of testimony from a committed American patriot. In February 2002 Kiriakou was the head of counterterrorism in Pakistan. Under his command, in a spectacular raid coordinated with Pakistani agents and the CIA’s best intelligence analyst, Kiriakou’s field officers took down the infamous terrorist Abu Zubaydah. For days, Kiriakou became the wounded terrorist’s personal “bodyguard.” In circumstances stranger than fiction, as al-Qaeda agents scoured the streets for their captured leader, the best trauma surgeon in America was flown to Pakistan to make sure that Zubaydah did not die. In The Reluctant Spy, Kiriakou takes us into the fight against an enemy fueled by fanaticism. He chillingly describes what it was like inside the CIA headquarters on the morning of 9/11, the agency leaders who stepped up and those who protected their careers. And in what may be the book’s most shocking revelation, he describes how the White House made plans to invade Iraq a full year before the CIA knew about it—or could attempt to stop it. Chronicling both mind-boggling mistakes and heroic acts of individual courage, The Reluctant Spy is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the inner workings of the U.S. intelligence apparatus, the truth behind the torture debate, and the incredible dedication of ordinary men and women doing one of the most extraordinary jobs on earth.

The Reluctant Spy is the timely story of Calvin Evan, a smart, but flawed CIA agent, beginning with the 1979 Iranian revolution. Cal develops a critical Iranian operative and becomes embroiled in the audacious, yet little honored effort to liberate the American embassy hostages. Romantically, he’s caught between his love for a rescued refugee and the aggressive intentions of his boss’ manipulative daughter. Ensnaring him, the savvy daughter navigates his career away from the political fallout of the mission’s failure and directs him to the battleground of the 1980’s- the Nicaraguan Contra war where Cal runs an illegal funding operation. Morally conflicted and victimized by his erratic behavior, he slips into a burned out funk, posted to Switzerland. There, amidst the rise of Middle Eastern terrorism, his past pulls him into conflict with his former Iranian asset, possibly a double agent, and reunites him with his long ago betrayed love, now a death squad target. The Reluctant Spy is the tale of Cal’s torment in trying to reconcile his heroic and destructive behaviors, his successes and failures, and his search for happiness and contentment. The backdrop of his struggles is the American foreign policy establishment’s often futile efforts to influence and control global events while carrying on insidious bureaucratic warfare. John H. Goodwin is a 1981 graduate of Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, Magna Cum Laude. John used his experience living abroad and knowledge of foreign cultures and American political and military affairs history in writing The Reluctant Spy. John manages global investment portfolios for wealthy American and international families at Morgan Stanley’s Private Wealth Management business.

The instant New York Times bestseller from the author of the Newbery Medal winner When You Reach Me: a story about spies, games, and friendship. The first day Georges (the S is silent) moves into a new Brooklyn apartment, he sees a sign taped to a door in the basement: SPY CLUB MEETING—TODAY! That’s how he meets his twelve-year-old neigh­bor Safer. He and Georges quickly become allies—and fellow spies. Their assignment? Tracking the mysterious Mr. X, who lives in the apartment upstairs. But as Safer’s requests become more and more demanding, Georges starts to wonder: how far is too far to go for your only friend? “Will touch the hearts of kids and adults alike.” —NPR Winner of the Guardian Prize for Children’s Fiction Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and more!

Blistering seduction meets international intrigue in the Highlands as a veteran spy infiltrates the court of Mary, Queen of Scots. There he matches wits against a tantalizing enemy: his new wife. Simon Marcheford wants nothing more than to settle down on the land bestowed upon him by the English crown. Queen Elizabeth, however, is not about to let her best spy retire so easily. Simon will have his reward, she decrees, after he completes one last mission in Scotland. But no sooner has he sussed out a diabolical plot up North than Queen Mary weds him to her cousin—an exquisite beauty with troubled, soulful eyes—and orders Simon to watch her every move. Aimee de Verris is no spy. But her life may depend on becoming one. Banished from the French court by Catherine de Medici, Aimee finds herself tasked with reporting on Queen Mary’s activities in Scotland, where she’s unnerved by the frigid weather and brutish customs. Worst of all, Aimee’s been married off to a most uncouth lout. But when murder strikes, she learns to appreciate Simon’s talent for shielding her with every inch of his muscular frame. If Aimee desires her husband, perhaps she could trust him—or even love him. Look for all of Sharon Cullen’s delightful historical romances: The All the Queen’s Spies series: WED TO A SPY | BOUND TO A SPY The Secrets & Seduction series: THE NOTORIOUS LADY ANNE | LOVING THE EARL | PLEASING THE PIRATE | HIS SAVING GRACE | SEBASTIAN’S LADY SPY | THE RELUCTANT DUCHESS The Highland Pride series: SUTHERLAND’S SECRET | MACLEAN’S PASSION | CAMPBELL’S REDEMPTION Praise for Wed to a Spy “The characters in this book were interesting and intriguing. The story was well written and sucked me in from the first page.”—Book Binge “A captivating launch to the series.”—Publishers Weekly “The character development was skillfully done, and the slow and sensual attraction between Simon and Aimee was slowly built and cleverly worked to perfection as Aimee discovered the difference between infatuation and true love.”—Color Me Read Includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.

Winner of the 2016 PEN First Amendment Award Winner of the 2016 Sam Adams Award for Integrity in Intelligence Winner of the 2016 Blueprint International Whistleblowing Prize for Bravery and Integrity in the Public Interest Winner of the 2013 Peacemaker of the Year Award Winner of the 2012 Joe A. Callaway Award for Civic Courage On February 28, 2013, after pleading guilty to violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, John Kiriakou began serving a thirty month prison sentence. His crime: blowing the whistle on the CIA's use of torture on al Qaeda prisoners. Doing Time Like a Spy is Kiriakou's memoir of his twenty-three months in prison. Using twenty life skills he learned in CIA operational training, he was able to keep himself safe and at the top of the prison social heap. Including his award-winning blog series "Letters from Loretto,"Doing Time Like a Spy is at once a searing journal of daily prison life and an alternately funny and heartbreaking commentary on the federal prison system.

Milo Weaver is unwillingly drawn into his bosses' plans for revenge against the Chinese agent who orchestrated the deaths of 33 tourists. Steinhauer, the best espionage writer in a generation, delivers a searing international thriller.

The world's leading toy manufacturer gives each toy it creates a tiny, computerized brain and a unique personality making for some seriously awesome toys. But sometimes there's a faulty toy . . . Dan is a "Snugliffic Cuddlestar" bear--he should be perfect for hugging. But because of a malfunctioning chip, Dan is so strong he could crush a car. Thrown into the rejects pile, he meets Arabella, a "Loadsasmiles Sunshine" doll, who has a very short temper. Soon Dan, Arabella, and Flax (a custom-made police robot rabbit) are recruited by the head of the toy world exactly for what makes them unfit. And their first mission is a doozy: to protect a senator's eight-year-old son from being kidnapped. With black-and-white illustrations throughout, this hilarious book has reluctant reader appeal written all over it.