(reviewed by JD Jung)
#CommissionsEarned
Retired British intelligence officer Willa Karlsson was rushed to the hospital due to an apparent poisoning. Though the exact toxin cannot be verified, the methods look similar to those previously executed by Russian intelligence. Why would they want her dead? Worse, could she have been a double agent?
Before retirement, her job was to vet potential employees to be hired for British intelligence. One such employee who she hired as an interrogator was Leonard Flood. Though Flood has little personality and cannot connect with people outside of work, he has a reputation for precision, speed, and surprise in his job.
Flood is reassigned as a “Gatekeeper”, a section of officers who investigate insider threats, including members of their own staff who may have been compromised by hostile foreign countries. His specific assignment is to solve the mystery about Willa, with an almost impossible deadline. There may even be more nefarious players, as Willa was responsible for hiring hundreds of employees.
What ensues is a cat and mouse game of unexpected proportions. There are surprises at every turn as the characters as well as the readers are never sure who is a double agent and who is on the up-and-up. While Flood knows that he can’t trust anyone, he also learns that situations are not all black and white. Additionally, once very confident about his intelligence skills, now he questions himself and his own motives.
The Man in the Corduroy Suit is not only a tale about espionage with non-stop action, but the story also brings in a very human element.
Highly recommended!
