The Russian

The Russian is an action-packed espionage novel by Ben Coes, his 9^th novel and the second one reviewed in this blog. East Coast Don reviewed Power Down in 2013. For Coes, that began a several book series about protagonist Dewey Andreas, and this is the opening novel in a new series about Rob Tacoma. Tacoma is a war hero who has become a CIA asset – a magnificent fighter who can speak Russian fluently. In the story, the Russian mafia has thoroughly infiltrated the U.S., and the book opens with the assassination of two important American legislators who have been working hard to limit their influence. Tacoma is called in to deal with an impossible circumstance. As noted, it is rapid paced drama. In response to some of the fights and gun battles that Tacoma survived, I thought the story was too unrealistic, but I also realize that we are living in hard-to-believe times. So, with a little effort at suspending my reality testing, I got into this can’t-put-it-down novel. Coes has provided us with an entertaining read, perhaps not in the same class as some other espionage writers, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.