Charles Jenkins thought he had it all together as he entered his sixties. He had found the love of his life, Alex, and married her. They had a nine year old son and another baby on the way. He had his own security company, based on his former work for the CIA when he was young. But his biggest client is far behind on payments and it's causing Jenkins financial woes. He has had to take out loans to make payroll and worse, had to put his family farm up for collateral. When his former CIA boss shows up unexpectedly, Jenkins is willing to listen to him.

The man explains that they need someone to go to Russia for a quick mission. For decades, there have been seven women who have spied for the Americans there. They are buried deep in the Russian government and should have been safe. But two of them have been killed recently and it's feared that under torture, they could have given information that could make finding the others possible. There is a woman assassin called The Eighth Sister who would kill them all. Since Charles has a branch of his company in Moscow and CIA experience, he would be the perfect person to go and find the name of the eighth sister.

Jenkins reluctantly agrees and there are issues as soon as he arrives. It is clear that he is being watched and he barely escapes Moscow with the help of a woman who is obviously another of the sisters. She helps him get out of Moscow and eventually, with the help of his lawyer and a contact in Mexico, Jenkins gets home. But when he tries to report what is going on, the CIA denies they had hired him and he is arrested for treason. Can Jenkins reclaim his former life?

Robert Dugoni is known for his Tracy Crosswhite series and other spy and legal thriller series. This is the first in the three Charles Jenkins books. Dugoni can't write a bad book which is obvious to me because spy novels aren't my favorite but I enjoyed this one. It is split into two parts. The first is the spy trip Jenkins takes to Russia and the second is a courtroom drama at his treason trial. I liked the first part better as it was more exciting. This book is recommended for readers of spy novels.

"The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off. Origin debated."

In The Eight Sister, Robert Dugoni introduces Charles Jenkins, a former CIA case officer. Jenkins has a lot depending on him and his struggling security consulting firm. He's in his early sixties, he has a family to take care of, and his wife has a new baby on the way. Just when he's feeling overwhelmed by it all and sure that his company is going to fail, his former bureau chief shows up at his home and tells him that the CIA needs to reactivate him for a mission that needs his area of expertise. They need to travel undercover to Moscow and locate a Russian operative that is believed to be killing members of a US spy cell known only as the seven sisters. He does find the Russian agent but it quickly becomes clear that the situation isn't what he was told . What follows is a deadly game of cat and mouse as he is pursued by a Russian intelligence officer. He finally makes it home, only to be abandoned by the agency he works for and branded a traitor.

This book was full of suspense and twists and turns as Jenkins tried to fulfill his mission, and then as he tries to make his way home from Russia. He has no idea who he can trust and can't use his normal resources. And, when he gets home, his troubles have only started. He has to find a way to defend himself without betraying national secrets that could lead to the deaths of other agents and failure of other missions. I loved how fast paced the story was and the way it kept my attention from the very start. I really enjoyed the characters and how they interacted. Dugoni has a real talent at making his characters come to life in a way that you can't help but connect with them. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.

I love Dugoni's Tracy Crosswhite series, but I just cannot get into this one (I tried several times!). DNF no rating.

An emotional page-turner, The Eight Sister is a pulse-pounding spy novel that grabs you from the very beginning and does not let go until the very end.

A well-crafted story with developed characters and a storyline that leaves you wanting more.

Definitely a must-read!!

An ultimate read that packs a punch! This read is full of action from beginning to end and would be a great book club read for a big group.

Robert Dugoni's novels are so full of intrigue. The stories are so real and I fall into his novels every time. "The Eighth Sister" is a novel that will keep you wanting more; which is great because his novels are series.

I don't normally read the spy genre but this was a good solid read, and I might try to read some more of this talented author in future. Recommended.

his is a classical spy/legal thriller featuring Charles Jenkins, 64-year-old former agent taking on the new unexpected mission in Putin’s Russia, only to realize that you can really never trust the ones you are supposed to.

I love Tracy Crosswhite series (actually, I consider it the best detective series of the last couple of years), so I have been expecting the new Dugoni series eagerly. But I am not a fan of this novel. Mostly because the plot goes the most classical, expected way - really, there are no surprises. Robert Dugoni can write smart, deep novel - but Charles Jenkins is more special because of his circumstances (married to much younger, mature woman, who is presently expecting their second child) than his adventures. But maybe the second novel will up the game.

I have one point of critique point - Charles Jenkins’s being a Black man does not make sense in the settings. Bear with me - the hero is sent to Russia to make a dangerous business here. Russians are dominantly Caucasian types. If you want a secret agent to be able to operate safely, why make him a totally visible, foreign type, whom anyone will remember by being an obvious non-Russian? Also, he speaks perfect Russian after years of not being an agent and not using the language. OK, maybe he is a language master. But I do think much many thoughts should be dedicated to his background and to the realities of non-US world.

Ex CIA agent Charles Jenkins is broke. When he is offered a dangerous assignment by his ex boss he has no choice but to accept the job. When things don’t go well Jenkins finds himself on the run for his life, abandoned by his country. This is an action packed spy thriller. Dugoni can be depended on to give you a great book and this one doesn’t disappoint. Thank you to net galley for a copy.

It took a long time to read this one, and I usually love a Dugoni book. I’m not sure if the CIA operative type book is for me. The ending felt very long.

Robert Dugoni is a good writer. Unfortunately, this book was difficult for me to get into. I tried. I really, really did. But something about it made me feel I was bumping up against a wall. I wasn't able to finish it. This should not be taken as a criticism as not every book will appeal to every reader. Dugoni is an enjoyable writer and I look forward to more of his publications in future.

"The Eighth Sister" is the first book in Dugoni's Charles Jenkns espionage series, currently a series of two books. Like the famous Russian nesting dolls, Dugoni has provided us not just with an espionage story, but another story hidden within that espionage story or perhaps framing it. The espionage story is top notch (particularly if you buy the setup) and takes us into the heart Putin's Russia, a world of suspicions, and spy games set in play decades earlier when there were two Cold War powers facing off Mano to Mano. Dugoni is especially adept as showing us how the spy game is like a chessboard with two opponents squaring off, trying to out-think the other twenty moves ahead. Make no mistake this is an action-packed, hold-your-breath adventure. But then, there's more at foot than just spygames, and we get a courtroom drama with betrayals, treachery, and levels of subterfuge. Overall, just a terrific read.

This is a great 'first in a series' book by an author I love to read.

The main character in this book is former CIA case officer Charles Jenkins, a man in his early sixties trying to make a sucess of his new security consulting business.

His former bureau chief shows up at his house with a risky new assignment: travel undercover to Moscow and locate a Russian agent believed to be killing members of a clandestine US spy cell known as the seven sisters. He doesn't want to take the job, but decides to do it because he needs the money to keep his business afloat.

This is a book full of unexpected twists and turns. Nothing is as it seems.

This was a great read. I look forward to reading the second in the series.

I'd only read The Trapped Girl by Robert Dugoni and it instantly put him on my list of favourites. As I’m still collecting other titles in that series to begin reading them, The Eighth Sister was a much-awaited book introducing a new character.

Charles Jenkins is in desperate need of money. He has a family to support with a new baby on the way, and his business is failing. In his early sixties, he has limited options, until his former bureau chief arrives with a covert assignment. Jenkins, a former case officer himself who quit the CIA forty years ago, is not averse to danger. But age is not exactly on his side and the mission has its risks - travel undercover to Moscow and locate a Russian agent believed to be killing members of a clandestine US spy cell known as the seven sisters.

I would be lying if I didn't say Jenkins was not what I expected as the central character for a spy thriller. Well, at least not right off the bat. But somehow, I warmed up to him fairly quickly, despite all his quirks and misgivings.

The Moscow mission itself is high on adrenaline with Jenkins following the assassin while having incurred the wrath of a Russian intelligence officer close on his heels. There is plenty of misdirection that ups the thrill factor in this book. And then Dugoni effortlessly changes track in Part 2 when Jenkins makes his way back home only to find his country turned against him. Here, the genre switches over to legal thriller and offers a complicated plotline with betrayal, treason and plenty of suspense to keep you glued to it. This is definitely a character you would want to keep up with.

I am a fan of this author's Tracy Crosswhite series so when I saw he was starting a new series, I didn't even read what the book was about, just grabbed it. Unfortunately, it was a spy thriller. I just do not care for this type of book and struggled getting through this at times, but the author's writing style and characters did allow me to finish and enjoy it.

EXCERPT: The bus wound its way along the Moskva River, already filling with chunks of floating ice, another harbinger of the wicked winter to come. Thirty minutes after Zarina boarded, the bus reached her stop in front of the supermarket on Filevsky Bulvar. She crossed the bleak park, listening to the spindling tree limbs click and clack with each wind gust. Soviet-era apartment buildings stood like sentries around the park, grotesque concrete blocks with tiny windows and tagged with graffiti. Zarina pushed open a brown metal door to a spartan lobby.The light fixtures had long ago been stolen - along with the marble floor and brass stair railing. Russians had interpreted capitalism to mean: "Steal what you can sell." Attempts to replenish the buildings had only led to more thefts.

Zarina rode the elevator to the twelfth floor and stepped into a hallway as drab and bare as the lobby. She undid the four locks to what had once been her parents' apartment, wiped the soles of her boots on the mat so as not to mark the oak floor, inlaid with an intricate geometric design, and hung her coat and hat on the rack before she stepped into the living area.

"We were beginning to wonder if you were coming home, Ms Kazakova."

The man's voice startled her, and Zarina screamed.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: Former CIA case officer Charles Jenkins is a man at a crossroads: in his early sixties, he has a family, a new baby on the way, and a security consulting business on the brink of bankruptcy. Then his former bureau chief shows up at his house with a risky new assignment: travel undercover to Moscow and locate a Russian agent believed to be killing members of a clandestine US spy cell known as the seven sisters.

Desperate for money, Jenkins agrees to the mission and heads to the Russian capital. But when he finds the mastermind agent behind the assassinations—the so-called eighth sister—she is not who or what he was led to believe. Then again, neither is anyone else in this deadly game of cat and mouse.

Pursued by a dogged Russian intelligence officer, Jenkins executes a daring escape across the Black Sea, only to find himself abandoned by the agency he serves. With his family and freedom at risk, Jenkins is in the fight of his life—against his own country.

MY THOUGHTS: I am not a fan of the spy-thriller/legal thriller genres, and had this book been written by anyone other than Robert Dugoni, I may not have finished it. Even so, I struggled at times to maintain my interest. And, if I have to be honest, I probably didn't check out the subject matter as carefully as I should have before hitting the 'request' button. Just seeing the Robert Dugoni name was recommendation enough for me.

And as I said, if The Eighth Sister had been written by anyone other than Dugoni, I probably wouldn't have finished it. However, his writing style carried me through; that and the mystery of the eight 'sisters', a spy ring.

While this is definitely not my favorite of Dugoni's books, it is certainly to be recommended if you are a spy-thriller aficionado.I am glad I read it, but not entirely sure that I want to repeat the experience with more of this series to come.

#The Eighth Sister #NetGalley

***.5

THE AUTHOR: Robert Dugoni is the New York Times, #1 Amazon, and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author of the Tracy Crosswhite series. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, released April 2018. Dugoni's first series featured attorney David Sloane and CIA agent Charles Jenkins, both of whom appear in The Eighth Sister.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Thomas & Mercer via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Eighth Sister by Robert Dugoni for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system, please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page, or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon and my webpage.

Robert Dugoni books are always fantastic. Great story and plot, cannot wait for the next one! Great!

I really enjoyed this novel from Robert Dugoni. I can’t wait to read more in the series! I found myself wanting to keep reading to find out what happened!

I usually don't pick up Spy/Espionage/Government/Court Drama themed books, but this one just blew me off my feet.

Charles Jenkins is dragged into a spy work by his former CIA Boss from his quiet life. Due to some financial problems Charles agrees and is thrown into a chase-run to Russia/Greece etc making the story a fast paced one. Then when he escapes from the Foe and comes back home it's a court room drama that keeps you going with lots of twists and turns.

I enjoyed every bit of this "Spy-Thriller" and looking forward for the next in the line :)

ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Published by Thomas & Mercer April 9, 2019

The Eighth Sister starts as a spy novel and turns into a lawyer novel. Two of my favorite genres rolled into a single book. I’m happy to report that the result will appeal to fans of both espionage thrillers and courtroom thrillers.

Seven Russian women, known as the Seven Sisters, were trained as American agents during the Cold War. Now that Putin is in charge, three have been killed. Former CIA agent Charles Jenkins, who runs a security service with cash flow problems, is recruited to travel to Moscow and identify the eighth sister, a Russian operative who is trying to ferret out the identities of the remaining four. Once Jenkins identifies her, someone else will kill her.

Jenkins is recruited by the man who used to be his station chief in Mexico City. For that reason, Jenkins believes that the CIA has authorized his mission. I suspect that most fans of spy fiction will wonder from the start whether that is true, and will wonder why Jenkins doesn’t do more to confirm that he is actually serving his government. But he’s getting paid handsomely, so maybe he doesn’t care.

Jenkins has a 9-year-old son at home and another baby on the way. He is 64 years old, 6’5” and black, so he stands out a bit in Moscow. The plot includes some good chase scenes in Russia when the mission goes south. It also introduces collateral characters who are self-sacrificing, adding a feel-good element to the story that never seems manipulative.

Every good spy novel contains at least one double-cross while challenging the reader to guess whether certain characters are good guys or bad guys. After the double-cross occurs, Jenkins is accused of being a traitor, a charge that never sits well with jurors or hanging judges.

The story offers a realistic view of the lengths to which the federal government will go to poison the public’s mind when it makes arrests, doing everything it can — from perp walks to press releases — to make a suspect guilty in the public mind until proven innocent. And convincing witnesses to tell the government’s version of the truth, even if it isn’t objectively true, is a specialty of federal prosecutors.

Jenkins is defended by David Sloane, a seasoned lawyer who has appeared in other Robert Dugoni novels. The plot depends on the government bringing Jenkins to trial while withholding evidence of his innocence — something no ethical prosecutor would do, but not every federal prosecutor is ethical. In our imperfect world, however, prosecutors (and particularly federal prosecutors) know their odds of being disciplined for ethical lapses are virtually nonexistent. I also found it doubtful that a majority of the Ninth Circuit would go along with a charade that prevents a defendant from presenting compelling evidence of innocence (some other circuits, yes, but the Constitution is still in effect on the West Coast). Still, it is easy to roll with the court’s ruling to keep the story moving.

The courtroom scenes generate the kind of drama that legal thrillers should create. The Eighth Sister effectively bridges the spy and legal genres, telling two very different stories but telling them both well. I don’t recall another novel that combines the genres in quite this way, so bravo to Dugoni for doing something new and clever — and for doing it so ably.

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