Remember Brano Sev? He works for the Ministry of State Security in the capital of Olen Stenhauer's unnamed Eastern European country. He's been assigned to be the new rezident in Vienna in search of a double agent code named Gravillo. But an underling there wants the job, frames Brano with a murder and sends him back to the capital where he is summarily demoted to assembling tractor gauges.
Six months later, his old boss gets him off the line and sends him to his hometown to investigate a source suspected of selling information to the highest bidder. But Brano again is blamed for a murder. But with a little help manages to get out of the basement of Yalta Blvd and crosses the border into Austria.
Once there, and under the watchful eye of Austrian authorities, is told by his former boss to wait. From here, we are witness to the drudgery of surveillance, intrigue, and guesswork about just what the hell is going on. Who is pulling his chain? Who can be trusted? And who are all these shadows following him? Gavrillo? Good question.
This is the 3rd in his five part series of post WWII espionage/police procedural novels, leaving me with just one remaining. These stories are old school espionage, which means its probably more akin to what the spy game really was at the time. No piles of dead bodies, car chases, beautiful women, automatic weapons, and blowing up everything in sight. No, sir. This is about manipulation, sources, interrogation (torture optional), assembling puzzles, threats, cover-ups, dead drops, play-counterplay. Have mercy can Steinhauer weave a complicated tale. Not for those wanting mindless entertainment. Be warned. You have to work for it.
East Coast Don
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