Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley provided me with an Advanced Reader's Copy of Traitor. The choice to review this book was my own.

When a young Israeli walks into the American Embassy and offers to betray his country, he has no idea that the agent interviewing him is a double agent. As the Israeli rises through the ranks, he must share what he knows with the Russian mole. Will the investigation for a traitor lead the Israeli, and those who share his confidences, into the depths of treachery and deceit?

I am a huge fan of espionage thrillers, but I was not taken with Traitor. Multiple POV's are present, with no fluidity or cohesion from one personality to the next. The plot does not flow, despite the fact that the passage of time is clearly marked. Overall, I am not dazzled by the characters or the story, so Traitor is not a book that I would recommend to others.

What a fascinating read! Not only is the author an enigma, but the story is so good and well written. It hooked me from the first chapter. This book will rocket to the top of the charts, in my opinion. It reads like Daniel Silva, but it has the action of a Thor novel. I loved it, and I couldn't put it down.

In 1983 Alon Regev, a young former officer in the Israeli navy, volunteered to become a spy for the United States. However, he was not aware that the man assessing him was both a US intelligence agent and also an agent for East Germany. Alon eventually becomes an Adviser to Israel's prime minister and, supposedly, a CIA spy. We never find out what caused Alon to become a traitor, but his handlers view him as a man without principles who doesn't really care who uses the information he shares or about anyone but himself.

Many years later, Israel finally finds out that they have a mole in their government and a team of intelligence agents is assembled to track him down. Like most spy novels, Alon's story is convoluted. The team's pursuit of Alan (code named Cobra) is like a treasure hunt in which they follow clues from Israel, Russia, Germany, New Zealand, the United States and more. Former agents give up secrets due to feelings of guilt or as revenge for old grievances. Sometimes they are killed to preserve their secrets.

I'm not that fond of spy stories in general, but this one held my interest. The beginning of the book was very slow but the pace increased as the Israeli team got closer to Cobra. There is a lot of time spent on reminiscences by aging agents and I wouldn't really characterize this book as a thriller. It's more literary fiction set in an espionage setting. I liked the book but didn't love it.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

I really wanted to like this book. I enjoy spy novels and thrillers, so I was hoping to like this one too. But it was slow reading. I had to force myself to keep reading through the first half, where the characters are introduced one by one. The real plot didn't start until after that, and it was slow moving as well. I found the ending to be contrived and convenient. No real plot twists. And the author needs to show more, instead of tell.

de Shalit is an Israeli who may be a spy. To read his novel, one cannot but conclude he is a spy- so realistic is his depiction of spycraft. Not a conventional thriller in the way a LeCarre or Furst novel is not a conventional thriller. And that’s a really good thing. Recommended.

I had very high hopes for this novel: an agent working for a handler who is himself an agent, and a decades-long career of unwittingly spying for one’s enemies? That’s an attention-grabbing premise, which left me with very high expectations. It took my a couple of tries to get going with the novel, but I’m sad to report that it ultimately didn’t work for me.

I think, ultimately, this novel may be a victim of its own hype. The publisher’s catalogue copy describes The Traitor as being “In the exhilarating tradition of I Am Pilgrim… a sprawling, international high-stakes thriller that pits the intelligence of one man against one of the most successful spies ever to operate against American interests.” However, I found the novel to not live up to this description. For one thing, it’s much shorter than I Am Pilgrim, and so shouldn’t be described as “sprawling”.

I also think that the novel lost a fair amount of its tension in translation — originally written in Hebrew, this translation feels, well, flat. The characters didn’t feel particularly distinct from one another. On occasion, I would forget which character I was reading about — reminded only by the appearance of their name. This flatness (there’s really no other word I can think of that better describes the feeling) robbed the novel of tension and excitement. I never grew invested in the characters’ fates, and none of them ever felt as if they were imperilled by their investigation. Despite not guessing the identity of Cobra, I was nevertheless not entirely surprised when the identity was revealed.

There was a surprising amount of info-dumping. Now, one expects a certain amount of explanation and description in a spy novel: new, different or innovative aspects of spy-craft will need to be explained to the reader, for example. What one doesn’t expect, however, is for two (sometimes more) veteran spies to explain their craft — and pretty basic elements thereof — to each other. Other aspects of the story felt a little muddled, and I’m not entirely convinced that I got everything I was supposed to from the final chapter — it could be read in two ways, one a major revelation, the other as a mere aside.

If you want a spy thriller that is a quick read, then I think you’ll find this suits. However, if you want something that is “exhilarating”, “sprawling” and gripping, then I’m not as confident that The Traitor will suit your needs. This novel needed to be bigger: I want to know more about the characters, Aharon’s team, Cobra’s activities, the double-agent handler’s activities. The progression of revelations was methodical, almost-too-easy, and certainly reliant on a couple of oh-so-very convenient coincidences.

I think I would recommend picking up Terry Hayes’s aforementioned I Am Pilgrim, one of John le Carré‘s many spy novels (sometimes referenced in The Traitor), or one of Charles Cumming‘s novels, before I recommended The Traitor. I really wanted to like this novel.

I requested an ARC of Traitor when I read about it on book twitter. A book written by an Israeli intelligence officer? Yes, please. And, I suspect that this book has much truth in in about the nature of spy services. In fact, I think that is the entire point, which is well received. However, the book itself falls too much on the tell side of the old adage, “show, don’t tell”. The early recruitment chapters felt a bit like Ocean’s Eleven. But, ultimately, there were too many meetings, too little action to fully hold my interest. The middle was very slow for me and the wrap up, not as satisfying as I would have liked.

This was a little slow-moving for a self-proclaimed "thriller" - but no less entertaining for that pace... In fact, it felt a little like the subject investigation that forms the background of the novel - methodical, turning over every detail to find connections, until suddenly things all click and the end arrives. This is a bit of an old-school spy book, with a modern twist. The jumps back and forth in time and space which reveal the underpinnings of the characters, their motivations and interactions, and the ultimate reveal, are well managed and not at all jumpy or difficult to follow. This is a smooth, mellow, single-malt of a thriller - I quite enjoyed it, once I settled into the pacing. I will admit that I was a little put off in the beginning - it opened well, then slowed up a bit as it fell into its natural rhythms. Once I adjusted my perception of "thriller" and "spy book" accordingly, I found myself pleasantly engaged and while I remained squarely in the middle of my seat throughout (rather than teetering on the edges), I did squirm quite a bit as the plot thickened and the secrets and reveals teased themselves out in a way that was just as enjoyable as if I'd been hanging by my fingernails. I suspect this is because it was a pace and development that built slowly and carefully, allowing me to get ever-more sucked into the drama as the pages turned. It is not a typical thriller, but I found it all the more enjoyable for that.

The promo said in the tradition of "I am Pilgrim"; no way

I am a thriller fan, it is my go to read but I read almost half with no action and while the cast of characters were interesting, all they did was talk about what they were going to do about finding "Cobra". I got lost in the details sorry

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Jonathan de Shalit, Atria, and Emily Bestler Books for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Turning to the dark and mysterious world of Israeli espionage, Jonathan de Shalit takes readers into a realm they may not know well. When Alon Regev approached the American Embassy in Rome one afternoon in 1983, he had a plan. Seeking to speak with the gentleman in charge of intelligence matters, Alon made a proposition. He currently served in the Israeli Government and would surely rise though the ranks. For a fee, he would gladly share all that he knew, including state secrets, if only to provide stability in the Middle East. Pondering this, the American consular official accepted this and submitted his plan to use Alon for the foreseeable future. However, unbeknownst to Alon, his American friend was actually a spy for the Soviets, or more specifically the Stasi. With the Soviet bloc teetering, East German espionage will soon go the way of the dodo, but with ‘Cobra’ on board, the Soviets could surely procure much needed information within the Middle East. Fast-forward thirty years, with the Stasi dead and buried, those who worked inside the organisation are quickly fading with age and not prepared to take all their secrets to the grave. There is mention of Cobra, which reaches Israeli Intelligence, who now know that they have a mole in the upper ranks of the Government. Who that person might be remains a mystery, but the hunt is on. Working both Russian and American angles, the Israelis play a game of cat and mouse, unsure whom they can trust and whether the feather ruffling will spook Cobra into deeper hiding. With extermination the only viable outcome, the Israelis begin their mission to destroy Cobra and thereby knock the Russians off their perch, once and for all. An interesting story by de Shalit, whose past has certain helped fuel the antics. Some who enjoy espionage thrillers may enjoy this one, but it seemed to lack suspense and depth for me.

Jonathan de Shalit’s real name remains hidden in the publication of this book, for security reasons, though he has been able to weave together a believable fiction based on his actual work with the Israelis. This is apparent throughout, touching on many of the interrogation techniques and sentiments to outside intelligence services. There are a handful of characters who play an important role in this book and whose appearance on the page is useful to keeping the story moving. Readers may enjoy the early Alon, as he barters away his country’s sovereignty, though once adopting the Cobra moniker, he is all but gone from the pages of the story. The agents who seek to find Cobra and sever his proverbial (or is it?) head play some interesting parts, though I felt there was too little backstory for my liking. I want to connect with characters, not be forced to watch them work and banter without knowing their roots. The story itself had much potential, but it became too much of a hunt and peck game, rather than a covert spy continuing to feed information and the world seeing action based on it, leaving the Israelis to scramble to plug the leak. The drama was gone, the more than superficial tactics were missing, and the people involved played only their part to gentle nudge information out of willing sources, save perhaps a few Russians. I like thrillers, especially those with some spying involved, but felt this one fell flat. Perhaps de Shalit was trying too hard to pull on the reins and not show readers what tactics are actually used, but the diluted result left me questioning if I will return for more by this author.

Thank you, Mr. de Shalit, for your effort. Perhaps spying is your strength and you can use a ghost writer to spice up the action. Either that, or stop worrying about pleasing the censors so much when you write the down and dirty portions.

With this being my first ebook I would have to say it was a great start. It is a great thriller with a great plot that twists and turns enough to keep you guessing all the way to the end!
As you read this you can see it really happening and not just being a story from someone with the background to know! You will not be disappointed with this book and I hope that this is just a start for this author writing his books for the english market!

At first I did not like Traitor and stopped reading it. I thought the beginning was boring. For some reason, I picked it up again and read to the finish. The story definitely improved and I enjoyed the tale of deception.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.