Thank you Net Galley for the copy of "Need to Know". 3 1/2 stars....As a fan of the tv show "The Americans", I looked forward to delving into the world of embedded Russian spies from a different angle. Ms. Cleveland's insider perspective was a refreshing way to view Russian/American operatives. Vivian, a CIA counterintelligence analyst, gets tangled up in a web of deceit and uncertainty which promotes many questions...a premise I found both interesting and frustrating. I feel the pace of the first half of the book was bogged down with minutiae, but the second half had me reading on to discover just how she was going to elude her "rock and a hard place" situation. This is a difficult review to write, as there are so many opportunities to inadvertently uncover spoilers.

One of the best thrillers I’ve read!! This one is a page turning, read through the night, story.

I completely related to our main character as she struggled between working long hours and being a good mom to her four young children. Her husband of ten years is just as devoted to their family.

The heart of the story is so much more than politics or ethics or patriotism.... It’s about trust and how far will you go to ensure the protection of your family.

And just when you think the conclusion is tied into a neat little package, you read the biggest shock of all!

Thanks to Net Galley and publishers for an ARC in exchange for this honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

Happy pub date to this beauty of a book! I absolutely L-O-V-E-D this spy thriller. Need to Know was a real page turner. Espionage and a whoooooooole lot of secrets.

The story jumps between current day and goes back to when Vivian and her husband Matt first met. It continues on through them having kids, and experiences they have had together. I loved that the book jumps back and forth, and it really gives great background on both Vivian and Matt. I think the characters are very well-developed, and had its share of both likeable and unlikeable characters. I loved Vivian, she was such an awesome woman, and she felt extremely real which I loved.

It is also a very fast paced book, and I was hooked from the very first page. It kind of reminded me of a James Bond movie, but without all the sleeping around....

I couldn't tell at all that this is Karen Cleveland's debut novel, it is that good. However, I can definitely tell that she is a former CIA analyst! I love when authors write about what they know, and I think it really shines through in this book. Political thriller. Spy thriller. Call it what you want, but everything was explained so perfectly and I didn't feel like anything was over- explained to the point of being overwhelming. You know exactly what is going on even if you know nothing about politics, Russians, or the CIA.

I was a tiny bit frustrated with Vivian as the book progressed, but I can't tell you why because I don't want to give anything away! Anyone know what I mean, please DM me so we can discuss. I just think there were lots of red flags that a person would normally find strange/suspicious/not normal, but she thought nothing of.

Final Thought: This book is a definite MUST READ in my opinion. The ending literally gave me chills, and that rarely even happens! The epilogue is definitely where its at. I hear they are making this into a movie starring Charlize Theron as Vivian, and I cannot WAIT until that comes out so I can watch it. I think this book will translate quite nicely to the silver screen. With all the thrillers coming out lately, this book was incredibly new and different. It was very refreshing to read, and a change from the norm. If there is a second book to this one I will totally read it, and I can't wait for Karen Cleveland to write more books!!

*Thanks so much to Ballantine Books for providing me not only with an electronic ARC of this book via NetGalley, but a physical copy as well!!! My review is completely honest and unbiased*

I received a free Kindle copy of Need to Know by Karen Cleveland courtesy of Net Galley  and Random House, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my fiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I am looking for another author in the mystery/thriller genre. It is the first book by Karen Cleveland that I have read.

I had high hopes for this book based on some early reviews, but alas I was greatly disappointed. The author's writing style did not resonate with me. It could have been due to the plot that someone working for the CIA in a high security position acting overtly nervous after doing something she should not have done and not getting caught. That might possibly happen in the real world, but for the sake of the security of our country, I hope not. I found it easy to put this book down and do something else.

In summary, this author falls short of others who write about this genre.

This book had me on page one ... by chapter two I was totally hooked. A gripping storyline, suspenseful and impossible to put down ... even when I knew I had to go to bed, or work, or do something other than hungrily read the next chapter. It haunted me as well ... the premise that nothing is as you believe it to be, that the suppositions we build our life around could all be façades, hiding truths we cannot even fathom. Well-written and well-plotted to the very end; you won't be disappointed.

I must admit I don't usually pick up this kind of thriller, but it provided a pleasurable afternoon of reading, with the right amount of family interaction and plotting twists to keep the pages turning through to the end. There is the joy of authenticity in the plotting of this account of a CIA analyst since the author served in that role, so the procedures ring truer than usual. The heroine is flawed, homelife isn't idyllic, which adds flavor to the stew.

Late at night, surrounded by the soft sounds of their four sleeping children, a husband asks his wife what she’s going to do. The woman is gripping a flash drive with great intensity and wishing to herself that “the past two days” could “be erased.”

What happened two days earlier to CIA counterintelligence analyst Vivian Miller? Her job is “to uncover the leaders of Russian sleeper cells in the United States.” It’s a frustrating task, both for her and her colleagues.

Omar’s been doing this longer than I have. A decade, at least. He’s looking for the actual sleepers in the U.S., and I’m trying to uncover those running the cell. Neither of us has had any success. How he’s still so enthusiastic never fails to amaze me.

The reason it’s so difficult to identify Russian sleepers is that “the SVR—Russia’s powerful external intelligence service—fears moles within its own organization,” and they don’t even keep the names of sleepers on Russian computers. A “multilayer encryption protocol” and airtight programs have kept CIA analysts at bay for years.

Vivian is nothing if not persistent. She develops a profiling methodology to uncover suspected handlers, hoping they will lead to the names of the sleepers. Every day she scans files, and her worries about the sinister effects of the program on America keep her up at night, especially since they “know the head of the program reports to Putin himself.”

Fortuitously, the CIA obtained the computer of Yury Yakov, a man they suspect may be a handler. Going through Yakov’s files, Vivian spots a Cyrillic word she knows: друг, which roughly translated means friends. Friends. Click. Double-click. Her “heart rate begins to accelerate” when she sees a “list of five JPEG images.” Five is very significant because “there are five sleepers assigned to each handler.”

Stop reading now if spoilers aren’t your thing.

Vivian clicks on “a headshot of a nondescript middle-aged man in round eyeglasses.” It’s just a picture, but even the possibility that she’s looking at an invisible, “well assimilated” member of American society has her excited: “My gut tells me this is something big.” The next picture is a woman. Why are these files on Yury’s computer? “They must be important. Targets, maybe?”

I double-click the third image and a face appears on my screen. A headshot, close-up. So familiar, so expected—and yet not, because it’s here, where it doesn’t belong. I blink at it, once, twice, my mind struggling to bridge what I’m seeing with what I’m seeing, what it means. Then I swear that time stops. Icy fingers close around my heart and squeeze, and all I can hear is the whoosh of blood in my ears.

I’m staring into the face of my husband.

When Vivian Miller joined the CIA, she vowed she would “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Does that include her husband, Matt? She goes home and asks him, “How long have you been working for the Russians?” How will he respond? “Will there be honest confusion? Indignation? Shame?”

There’s nothing. Absolutely no emotion crosses his face. It doesn’t change. And that sends a bolt of fear through me.

He looks at me evenly. Waits a beat too long to answer, but just barely. “Twenty-two years.”

It was no accident that Matthew Miller bumped into Vivian years earlier, the day she moved to Washington. Heartsick, she unravels a lifetime of choices and judgments, discovering that nothing about her married or professional life is coincidental. Unsurprisingly, the Russians attempt to blackmail her, hence the flash-drive in the opening scene.

The plot of Need to Know lends itself to a Jeopardy answer: The only crime specifically defined in the Constitution. Question: What is treason? The penalty for treason is chilling. If you are found guilty, you “shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000.” Vivian’s intelligence, patriotism, and love of her family are pitted against shadowy forces that threaten everything she holds dear. Need to Know is a tour de force. Vivian’s humanity versus the treacherous world of realpolitik.

Thanks to Ballantine and Random House for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

If you've followed my reviews before, you'll know that I love a great political or espionage thriller. So when I read the synopsis for Karen Cleveland's debut NEED TO KNOW, I needed it! Russian sleeper cell in the US and a CIA agent uncovering a conspiracy - what more could I ask for in an espionage thriller?

Vivian Miller works in the CIA counterintelligence as an analyst, her job is to uncover the leaders of Russian sleeper cells within the United States. She's developed an incredible system for identifying and uncovering different Russian agents - they're always living in plain sight and leading seemingly normal lives. Vivian is working hard for a promotion, and in her work she stumbles upon a secret dossier including deep undercover agents within the US. As she continues searching through the dossier, she quickly finds herself and her family in grave danger.

As a devoted CIA agent, Vivian finds herself in a place she never wanted to be. She has vowed to protect the United States at all costs against all enemies, foreign and domestic. But with her family on the line, she must make the impossible choice between allegiance and treason, loyalty and betrayal - who and what can she trust?

Being a political science and international relations major in college, this is the kind of thing I love. My senior project was on espionage (Cuban Missile Crisis) so this is a topic that I have some knowledge on and every new story I hear just fascinates me. Cleveland's background as a CIA analyst and from working in counterterrorism shines through in this novel. I would love to see more suspense novels like this from her in the future.

Overall, if you want a gripping thriller with a CIA conspiracy woven in, then you'll love this! If you aren't a big fan of anything with a political flair, then this might not be for you. That being said, it's not too technical or overly political - so it doesn't read as heavy as some political thrillers can.

I give this 5/5 stars!

This is the debut novel we’ve all been waiting for.. You’ll be hooked from the very first chapter — I guarantee it! We are watching the birth of a new suspense star, and I for one cannot wait to see what she writes next.

Karen Cleveland’s cinematic debut, Need to Know, blends elements of domestic suspense, traditional thrillers, and spy novels to craft something that feels both fresh and familiar. The resulting novel will have widespread appeal for readers everywhere.

Just moments after Need to Know begins, CIA Analyst Vivian Miller’s perfect life is shattered. Tasked with identifying sleeper agents put into place by the Russian government, she never expects to remotely stumble upon a photograph of her husband on the computer of a suspected spy.

Most writers would follow this with a “is he or isn’t he” plot detailing Vivian’s exploration of her husband’s secret life. But Karen Cleveland is not “most writers.” Just pages later, Vivian’s husband Matt admits to working with the Russian government and our novel’s storyline is off and running.

Spoilers would abound in any further discussion of this breakneck plot; but rest assured that things take a winding path towards an exciting and unexpected finish.

In an unusual move, Karen Cleveland focuses on this working woman’s family life. Detailing how Vivian juggles the demands of a high stress job with the requirements of raising four children and maintaining a happy marriage would seem counter-intuitive to the tropes of the spy genre, but in fact it helps to flesh out a character who will soon be faced with the most agonizing of decisions.

Karen Cleveland’s writing style is highly readable. She keeps the pacing pitch perfect for her new hybrid genre. Typical thriller readers will find some of the domestic scenes tedious; while domestic suspense readers will find the high concept actions set-pieces a bit jarring – but trust me, somehow it works. Pages fly by as each new revelation alters the course of Vivian’s pivotal decisions.

Film rights to Need to Know have already been optioned, which is no surprise given the visual feel of the novel. Readers can almost picture scenes in their mind’s eye as they unfold on the page. Certainly Vivian Miller is a prime role for one of today’s leading actresses. Charlize Theron is already attached to the project and fans will immediately see why. Theron had just the right blend of toughness and heart needed to bring Vivian to life.

Meanwhile, readers will be anxious to see what Karen Cleveland offers next. She has proven that she can tell a hell of a story without resorting to typical genre tropes. Hopefully she will continue to toy with reader’s expectations with her future work.

Thank you ARC and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
After reading "Need to Know, I can see why it is one of the most anticipated mysteries of 2018. I normally don't
read political or spy novels, but I could not put this thriller down. Wow! What a story! Read it! You won't be disappointed!

A CIA counterintelligence analyst investigating Russian sleeper spies finds a face she never expected in a hidden file, and her world is immediately turned upside down. And it only gets more tense from there...

Vivian Miller has been happily married to Matt, a software engineer, for almost ten years, with four young children. She works full-time for the CIA, trying to uncover a network of Russian sleeper spies. Viv has developed an algorithm for identifying people who are likely suspects for being Russian spy handlers, based on education, their banking practices, travel to and contacts with Russia, and so on. Then she tries to hack into their computers to see if she can find any evidence of spying.

Her current lead, Yury, seems a likely candidate. And in fact, once she's able to hack into Yury's laptop, she finds a file labeled "Friends" in Russian, with five images of people who could be in Yury's cell of sleeper spies. When Viv opens the third image, she's shocked to her core, and her first impulse is to hide it. But her finding will impact her life in ways she never imagined, and as everything comes crashing down around her, she doesn't know who she can trust.

I was traveling cross-country when I started this book, and it was the only thing I could read. There are hidden plots and subplots, wheels within wheels. Karen Cleveland does a great job of making you feel sympathy for Vivian and the impossible choices she's facing, including the difficult choice of working full-time when you have young children. It's a fast-paced read that's incredibly gripping and almost impossible to put down until you get to the end.

I received free copy of this ebook from the publisher and NetGalley for review. Thanks!

I was hesitant about reading Need to Know at first because I typically lose interest in political based books very quickly. There was no way I was going to lose interest in Need to Know. It is fast paced and keeps you constantly on your toes. Reading this thriller was like reading an episode of Quantico. Vivian is definitely a heroine to admire. She is fiercely protective of both her family and her country and willing to sacrifice everything to protect them. Cleveland managed to perfectly weave a story of fast paced political thriller with an underlying romance story in this book.
I voluntarily received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my!!! I don’t know how I could deal with finding out one of the people I love has been lying to me the entire time I’ve known them.

Do you think you think you could ever forgive and trust that person again? I don’t know that I ever could. I think the doubt would be too great and the chasm created too deep, no matter how much I loved that person.

This book is great and pulls you in from the very start. It’s full of intrigue and has you wondering “what next?” all the way to the end. Speaking of the end, I need another book to continue this story! It’s not a cliffhanger, per se, but it is very intriguing.

Edgy, fast paced thriller, Need to Know will have you on the edge of your seat from the get go. Sleeper cell specialist Vivian has her world shaken to its very core when she learns her husband is a Russian sleeper agent. Nothing about his history (as she knows it) is real. Events quickly escalating to threaten not just her career but the safety of her children and family, this book will have you up all night to see what happens next. Excellent first novel by CIA Analyst Karen Cleveland who obviously knows her stuff.

HOLY SMOKES! This political/spy/thriller was edge of your seat good from start to end! Be prepared to finish this book w/o putting it down.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Random House for this advanced readers copy.

Excellent excellent book. Riveting and heart pounding. Will keep you up way past your bed time feverishly flipping pages as to rush to find out what's going on. Definitely an author to watch because she's definitely written a winner with this book. She will keep you hooked as she twists and turns her way through the book making you think oh okay I got it but you really done. Superbly done Karen Cleveland. Definitely looking forward to the next one. Happy reading!

Married couple Vivian and Matt seem to be the happy pair raising four children. They live near Washington, DC, where she is a CIA analyst. Matt is a software engineer who works from home and takes care of the children while Vivian is at work. This causes her to seem detached from the children, yet she is crazy about Matt and thankful to have him. However, all is not as it seems.
Vivian discovers something at work that sets to tear her family apart. She is absolutely devoted to her children and will do whatever she thinks she needs to do to keep them safe and happy. Because she uses that desire as her guide, she gets deeper and deeper into trouble. I don't like to give away the plot but I will say that the Russians are involved.
The author tells the story through Vivian's eyes, thoughts, and feelings so well that one can believe it's really happening. I would have given the story five stars except for the ending. I thought it was a bit cliched, but it's the only way it could end if the author desires a series with Vivian as her protagonist. Well worth the time if you like psychological thrillers.

What would you do if you were a CIA analyst and you found out that your husband of ten years is a Russian spy? That is the crazy way day started in Need to Know, by Karen Cleveland. Cleveland, who worked as a CIA herself, puts herself in Vivian's shoes, a CIA analyst working on rooting out Russian sleeper cells in the U.S. When she hacks into a suspected handler's computer and sees her husband's face staring back at her, her world is rocked.

Her all-American husband confirms the worst: that he's a plant from Russia, that he targeted her and married her to get an inroad to the CIA, and that they are trapped with no way out. Torn between her sworn duty to protect the United States, and her motherly duty to do what is best for her and Matt's four children, she tries to make things right and stay out of jail.

Cleveland's narrative is brisk and captivating. I was at the same time frustrated that Vivian couldn't just do the right thing, and empathetic with her struggle to decide what the right thing was. Just as Vivian can't decide whether or not she can trust Matt, Cleveland keeps us guessing until the end. I have no idea whether sleeper cells like Cleveland describes exist in the U.S. But she makes me wonder where they might be. . . . Need to Know is an entertaining, suspenseful novel that will keep you reading and guessing. Hopefully Cleveland will be back with more.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

OMG!!! I see series in this books future.
I can totally see why the rights of this book have been sold. Can you say MOVIE!! This has got to be the best political thriller I have ever read.I just could not put it down. I devoured it in a few hours.

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.