Published by Kensington on May 11, 2020

The Vigilant Spy is the fourth in a series of novels featuring Yuri Kirov, a Russian intelligence asset who defected and joined the western world of private enterprise. He gives the CIA an assist from time to time as the price of freedom. The Vigilant Spy fills in enough details of Yuri’s past that it can be read as a standalone.

The story begins with Uyghur dissidents who believe they are retrieving an underwater surveillance device. To their misfortune, they are are actually setting off a small nuclear device near a Chinese naval base. The operation doesn’t go exactly as planned, but the Russians who conceived it have made the Chinese blame the resulting EMT damage on the United States. The Russian operation is in retribution for China’s earlier antagonism toward Russia, in which China also attempted to deflect blame to the United States for its mischief.

Yuri Kirov was a Russian intelligence operative who is using his knowledge of submarines and underwater drones to win defense contracts for the Alaskan business he founded. The CIA and DOD decide his specialized knowledge will come in handy when it learns of a new Chinese weapon, an underwater drone that moves like a snake, wraps itself around targets, and explodes.

Kirov, a CIA agent, and some SEALs try to break into a Chinese military base to steal plans for the device, a Mission Impossible adventure that, to Jeffrey Lawton’s credit, the heroes must abandon in favor of a slightly more realistic objective. Before the novel ends, Kirov will engage in a daring escape from China with a hostage in tow, while the submarine that supports his mission plays tag with Chinese and Russian vessels in the South China sea.

Lawton writes action scenes that are brimming with tension and sets them up with the kind of groundwork that allows a reader to suspend disbelief. Lawton makes the relatively outlandish plot seems barely plausible, in part because the story never pushes past the outer boundary of credibility. The machinations of China, Russia, and the United States all have an aura of realism. The political intrigue adds a layer of interest to the fast-moving story.

Kirov is presented as a guy who would like to put politics behind him and move forward with his new western family. Characterization isn’t deep but it’s sufficient for an action novel. The fact that Kirov is a Russian spy-turned-defector makes him more interesting than the typical super-patriot thriller hero. The Vigilant Spy isn’t a top shelf spy novel, but it is an entertaining action-thriller.

RECOMMENDED

Completely and totally implausible but oddly compulsively readable. This is for fans of action thrillers- it's not an espionage novel, even though Yuri defected from the Soviet Union and is working with the CIA against China. It helps. I think to know a bit about or at least appreciate naval warfare (as well as geopolitics). The characters are broadly drawn, the storytelling fast paced, and you will find yourself rooting for the good guys (once you work out who all of them are.). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

The Vigilant Spy, in the right hands, is probably a super thriller. Those hands are undoubtedly wet, as that reader spends a lot of time in the water. Fans of the Navy or related entities are also part of the target audience. All of which is to say that I am not the person author Jeffrey Layton had in mind when he wrote The Vigilant Spy. Sure, I am an avid reader who loves spy tales, but that's not enough to truly enjoy this novel. One has to have an aptitude for the sea, for sailors, for nautical terms and above all, technology. The Vigilant Spy has so much technical information that it felt like an anchor on my neck, bringing me down the more I read. In order not to sink, I had to skim multiple pages and scenarios where Mr. Layton show his nautical expertise. To have me along for the ride surely made the need for a tugboat even greater.
No doubt this is a good novel, and I did enjoy much of it. But I have no desire to stop frequently while reading to learn new terms and technology. My guess is that many readers will agree with me. So best of luck to the novel. I'll stay close to land.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.