A Spy in Exile

Book excerpt: From the author of the internationally bestselling “supremely effective, cunningly crafted” (The Providence Journal) thriller Traitor, a cerebral, suspenseful, and “different kind of spy novel” (Kirkus Reviews) filled with high-stakes intrigue in Israel’s top intelligence agency. After Ya’ara Stein is forced out of her job at the Mossad—the secret intelligence service of Israel—the Prime Minister offers her a classified job. Known for her aptitude, beauty, and deadliness, Stein is asked to set up a secret unit that will act independently, answerable only to the Prime Minister. This deadly team, filled with bright young men and women recruited and trained by Stein, quickly faces threats both old and new. Descendants of the lethal militant Red Army Faction have returned to terrorize Europe and fears of a radical Islam splinter group force the unit to distinguish between facts and smoke screens. As Stein’s cadets struggle to crush these threats, they soon discover how easily the hunter can become the hunted. A dazzling, tension-filled novel that sheds light on the world hidden just below the surface of our everyday lives, this “multidimensional…authentic” (San Francisco Review of Books) thriller offers a peek behind the curtain of today’s deadliest conflicts. With breathless pacing and shocking twists and turns, it proves that Jonathan de Shalit “has learned well from the likes of Mr. le Carré” (The Wall Street Journal).