An exciting read which keeps you guessing. Can’t wait for the film!

Reading Karen Cleveland’s spy novel, “Need to Know,” is reminiscent of a trip to the dentist. Friendly at the beginning, moving to slightly uncomfortable from the chair with a view of all the instruments, then a slight mistrust of the dentist in spite of the gentle probing with a forefinger, then a stick in the gums that starts a procession of ever increasing hurt, eventually becoming a time of much squirming and butt-clenching until blessed dismissal is reached.

So it goes with the story. Vivian Miller is a counterintelligence CIA agent with a loving husband and four children, all of whom she dearly loves. Her life isn’t easy because she works hard, the kids have various health problems, there’s a little money trouble, and Matt, the husband, seems a bit of a drag. Then she discovers her husband listed in a top-secret file of Russian agents operating in the United States. She confronts him, he admits it but professes deep commitment to her and the children, swearing that he has never passed any damaging information to the Russians. It’s her responsibility to turn him in but there’s more, of course.

It all turns into a monstrous lie, ever-increasing tension, and, finally, out-and-out fear. Her life becomes something she has no control over. Her vow to protect the country becomes a numbness she can’t shake or get rid of (remember the dental comparison?). The Russian connection becomes increasingly threatening, Matt’s insistence on innocence becomes less convincing, and she is faced with impossible choices to make.

Cleveland, herself a former CIA analyst who rotated briefly into FBI duty, knows her stuff. She has a captivating way of slowly bringing the reader into the sordid world of betrayal and suspicion that lurks just below a layer of love and trust. Each transgression had me yelling at Vivian to not fall for it, to do what was right, to not be manipulated. Of course she ever heard me and her decisions dunked her into a cesspool that she couldn’t escape from.

I thought the story was great and the writing exemplary. The book was spellbinding and I couldn’t put it down. She left room at the end for more story. Heartily recommend.

Need to Know by Karen Cleveland
Need to Know
by Karen Cleveland (Goodreads Author)
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Lou Jacobs's review
Oct 16, 2017 · edit

it was amazing

Delicious! Chapters 1 and 2 end with a gut punch that sets the hook. And, much like a desert addict, I would not be satisfied until I gobbled up this book. It was devoured in two parcels with the unfortunate need to go to work in between. Karen Cleveland serves up an amazing psychological thriller that proves to be a roller coaster ride. Her plotting and prose are reminiscent of the best of Dean Koontz.
The protagonist is Vivian Miller, a dedicated CIA analyst who is relentlessly working on an algorithm program of "Athena" in hopes of uncovering a nest of Russian operatives who are silently embedded into our society. Suddenly, she clicks into a folder that forever changes her life. With one click a series of photos appear that will test her resolve, love and loyalty.
Cleveland provides a masterful tale of deceit propelling to a satisfying and yet unexpected denouement. I certainly hope this is not Vivian Miller's last dilemma!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher in providing this proof in exchange for an honest review.

What would you do to protect your family?

Vivian Miller, a CIA analyst specializing in Russian sleeper agents, must ask herself this numerous times when she discovers a shocking intersection of her work with her personal life. Her beloved husband, father of her four young children, is a Russian agent. Following this devastating revelation, Viv fights to find a way to keep her loved ones safe, even as others try to use her for their own ends and she struggles to know whom she can trust.

Viv isn’t your usual superhuman thriller heroine, somehow miraculously defeating the bad guys and rarely making a misstep. Along the way, she makes some stupid decisions and some not so stupid ones as she does the best she can to protect her children. More than a few times, I wondered how she could have been fooled, especially with her experience in the CIA. But I suppose that’s the point. When it comes to the welfare of those we love, we delude ourselves, lie to ourselves, see or believe what we want to see, all if we think it will keep them safe. In that respect, Viv is very human, making this more a novel about human foibles and family than a spy thriller.

Even though I became frustrated with Viv for some of her decisions, I remained engrossed in her story. That, truly, is the mark of a successful novel.

First, thanks to the author, publisher and Net Galley for providing me a free copy of this novel to preview. It’s a fast-paced, thriller about a CIA analyst whose life is shattered by what she finds while searching for Russian sleeper cells in the U.S. Vivian is bright, intelligent and devoted to her job and family. Suddenly, she finds herself confronted by threats to everything and everyone she loves. As she maneuvers through a myriad of twists and turns, I was constantly surprised by this unlikely hero. If you are looking for a real page turner, this one is coming for you in January 2018!

Excellent and perfectly twisty. The close personal perspective of the main character was different from most spy novels, not least because it's a woman. She makes for an excellent narrator and guide and quickly draws empathy from the reader with her point of view on personal, family and work issues.

SPOILER ALERT: The basic premise (which is a surprise at several points) of Karen Cleveland’s Need to Know is laid out here; so if you want total surprise, stop reading! But I’m not giving away the BFD ending which is designed to be a real shocker, so if you don’t mind reading a plot outline, have at it!

I had read some of the hype about this book (optioned as a film with Charlize Theron, so my image of protagonist Vivian Miller was of Charlize), so I was pleased to get an advance copy of this book from Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. As the story begins, we meet Vivian Miller (Charlize), a super-dedicated CIA counterintelligence analyst who has been working for years on a project that, if successful, will uncover the identities of people living in the U.S. as members of Russian sleeper cells. She has developed this system to identify the people who appear to be normal residents of the U.S., but who are actually working as Russian agents.

Vivian’s life has gotten complicated as she and her husband Matt and their four children live the lifestyle of a middle-class couple, complete with a big mortgage and some medical problems for one of their kids that guarantee they can’t just walk away from her job on a whim. One day, while she is online accessing the computer of someone she thinks may be a Russian operative, Vivian stumbles on a secret file that contains information about deep-cover agents in the U.S. As she scrolls through the photos of the agents assigned to the suspected handler, she is stunned to see her husband Matt’s photo. She is torn about what to do – if she turns him in, her job will be over, her kids will be devastated, and everything that matters to her will be gone. Should she confront Matt? Maybe tell her boss? Or tell her trusted friend who works with her on the special project, FBI Agent Omar?

She seems to be faced with impossible choices. She starts looking back at her entire relationship with Matt – how they “met cute,” fell in love, got married, had kids, lived together for a decade – is it possible she is wrong, her life’s work of developing a method to identify the sleeper agents a failure?

I really enjoyed the process of reading this, and it was pretty much all-engrossing. But it required a bit of willing suspension of disbelief, because this genius woman seemed to keep making some dumb decisions. But then, I’d think, “Who knows what I’d do in her situation?”

Good plotting, good character development, good escapist entertainment. More than a bit unsettling, TBH. Just like you sometimes find out the seemingly normal guy down the block is a serial killer, you might have a member of a sleeper cell in the neighborhood, coaching your kid’s soccer team. Four stars.

Quite literally from the very first page this book grabbed me.. it was a wonderful concept, well executed and deserves the success that will hopefully come it’s way. Each character is well drawn, understandable and feels right on target until suddenly everything changes and then things change again and again. Each time you almost get chest pains from the tension. This is a book that once started, you just don’t want to put down. What’s next? How would I react in the same situation? What would I do? All is well paced, well written and a very fine book. I received an advance copy for an honest review. At times like this, I feel privileged to be able to read a book like this one with no preconceived notions and then write up my thoughts. In this case it is very easy. Grab this book, find a nice comfortable spot and enjoy the ride this book takes you on! It is time well spent! Every time I thought I’d figured out this story, something new would be revealed. This is a fabulous story quite literally to the very last page when things morph all over again and you are left quite literally speechless with an ending you never saw coming!

This book demands your attention at the 1st page turn and that's it... You can't put it down! Very well written!

Any mother can sympathize with Vivian Miller. Her four children are the mainspring of her joy, pride, and life. Keeping up with their needs and the demands of a stressful position as a CIA intelligence analyst on the Russian desk means that she needs someone to take up the slack when she is at work; someone on whom she can rely. That is where Matt Miller, her husband, comes in. He fills all the gaps and makes the family home function like a well-oiled machine. Life is good, and things are running smoothly, right up the day she learns that she has been sleeping with the enemy.

“Need to Know” brims with the mixture of love, stress, and responsibilities that all modern households face, but then adds blackmail, espionage, and betrayal. The pace is fast; the characters are evocative and all too human. As the denouement comes you relax, it's a happy ending, right? And then comes the twist at the end. I recommend this book to those enjoy cloak and dagger tales of the Cold War style.

Random House Books and NetGalley provided an advance digital copy for this review.

This is the most terrifying book I have read in a long time. It is completely realistic and creates an environment of fear and desperation. In the world of espionage no one can be trusted. The question is what would you do to protect your family? I had my heart in my throat for most of the book. Even at the end, masks continue to slide. Most of the characters are very real. The style of writing is sparse, which supports the story well. Perhaps everyone involved in some form of espionage develops a different world view which must be reconciled with the.. demands of their human relationships. Once you identity with the characters in this book, you are in for a gut-wrenching ride.

Decent book but I saw the twist at the end coming. Also very similar to The Americans tv series.

Need to Know by Karen Cleveland is a page turner for sure. I think the author did a wonderful job crafting a tense thriller. The characters were well rounded with understandable and sympathetic motivations. I loved that the author flipped between the past and the present. A lot of the past interactions between Matt and Vivian had an insidious quality to them. What seemed to be the actions of a supportive husband came off sinister once you stared questioning his motivations.

I think the author did a great job in keeping the reader guessing as to whether Matt could be trusted. There always seemed to be little kernels of doubt sprinkled throughout. I think it was believable that Vivian continually gave him the benefit of the doubt. It was annoying to be sure, and Vivian made some truly frustrating decisions. Of course, if she had done the right thing from the beginning, there would be no book. I was able to get past it because the author explored how 10 years of marriage and family weighed on her decisions.

As for the ending, all I can say is: whew!  I was expecting it, but I was still caught off guard. Loved this book.

https://thebookobserver.blogspot.com/2017/10/review-12-need-to-know.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2150495953?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

An well-written and enjoyable story about the relationship and developing friendship between an old man and a young girl - how each learns and gains from the other, and how they welcome an old woman into their lives as well.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book based on the description. However, from the outset, I was intrigued by the first person voice of our heroine. In pursuit of her next career move, she breaks into a Russian computer and stumbles across a picture she never wanted to see.
From that moment on, she makes one bad decision after another, all leading up to a pretty unbelievable crescendo. The ending strains credulity some although it might work well for a movie.
The husband is a shit, and God knows why his wife puts up with him or has iota of trust in him. The finale is a little heartbreaking but it is a little tough to have lots of sympathy for most of the characters,
I did read it quickly and she does have moments of insight, just no where near enough of them.

Turns out there's no such thing as a perfect man. But CIA analyst Viv, the intrepid protagonist of this novel, is gonna have to really learn that lesson and not the easy way either when her adoring spouse turned out to have a doozy of a dark past sort of secret. That's the basic premise in this popcorn thriller and for what it is, it works quite nicely. Personally, I'm not a huge spy genre fan, but I do enjoy thrillers and this is for the most part pretty thrilling, it's fast paced, has some twists and turns, some genuinely well written anxiety. Plus the author actually is a CIA analyst, so that's a reliable primary source for details, certainly. It's just that the thing is...this seems more of a novel about family and having kids and less about spies. In fact, if one is to look for a moral within these pages it would certainly be something along the lines of operatives with families make for unreliable operatives. Apparently love makes all the morals, rules and ethics go right out of the window. And Vivian isn't just in love, she's also determined to reproduce at a rate normally found on TLC's reality programming, which makes her all the more of a target. But then, of course, her momzilla instincts come into play and she'll do whatever it takes...and that's how the narrative unfolds. Viv making choices, Viv questioning her dearly beloved's loyalties, Viv being a supermom. And then, just when you thought it was all resolved and tied up neatly with a bow, there's one last stab. Because it's a thriller, after all. Oh Viv, you tried to do what's right. So anyway, that's about all you need to know about this book...it's a movie waiting to roll. Depending on the cast it might even be an A movie. I can just see Reese Witherspoon or someone similar all over this with a tagline like She's CIA analyst second and mother first. How far will she go to protect her family? Who do you trust when your entire life is based on deceit? Something like that. So yeah, total popcorn fare, but plenty entertaining and a quick read. Thanks Netgalley.

"Need to Know" is a gripping spy story, told from an interesting perspective. Vivian is an analyst at the CIA when she opens a file that reveals a secret that would shake her world to its very core. Shown through a mixture of current narrative and flashbacks that draw the reader in from the first chapter, Ms. Cleveland does an excellent job of making the shadowy world of counterintelligence understandable, engaging, and very plausible. Four stars.

Need to Know: A Novel by [Cleveland, Karen]

I thought this was great fun.

Review copy provided by publisher.

I'm hooked! You have yourself a new fan!! I'll patiently wait on anything else you write, books, poems, short stories, you name it! Well done Karen! It was honor to read your masterpiece.

Wow. An amazingly tight page-turner. I'll be shocked if this isn't a motion picture within a year.