Hal Knight is a comic actor turned politician whose life comes crashing down after he’s “canceled” for sexist remarks. (I put the word in quotes because I don’t believe that anyone is really canceled today, given our social division and gnat-like attention span.) Though his publicists have a plan for his rebirth, Hal wants nothing to do with it. He issues a no-excuses apology and leaves both his comedy and political careers, going ultra-low profile, which at the outset of the book involves a low-key visit to the island of Vieques.

Two sets of people are very interested in Hal. The first, weirdly out of left field, is a secret group from the fictional eastern European country of Bolrovia. Turns out their premier, Nikolai Horvatz, really loves him some Hal Knight and wants him to come for an extended visit and hang out. The CIA knows about the plan, and the second set of interested parties is a three-person team wanting to convince Hal to be their eyes and ears in Bolrovia, as Horvatz seems to be leaning more heavily toward relationships with Russia and China.

I’ve read a few Fesperman political thrillers, and this one is a bit different in that it has a comedic touch and is set in a fake country with fake politicians. Still, it’s hard to miss the resemblance of Nikolai Horvatz to Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, a side character named Baxter Frederickson is an obvious stand-in for Tucker Carlson, and there is another character who is an amalgam of the many Fox News blonde fembots. Hal Knight himself has a little bit of a resemblance to Al Franken, at least in being a comedian-turned-politico who loses his careers for dumb sexist stuff.

Hal becomes friendly with his minder, Pavel Lukov, who is Horvatz’s new chief administrative aide and increasingly uncomfortable with Horvatz’s authoritarianism and the Beria-like attitudes and actions of his top security man, Branko Sarič. Hal and Pavel get themselves in trouble in short order, and both will have to find their true selves as they face the trouble.

I was looking forward to an eastern European espionage novel, and I thought that if it included a bit of comedy, that would be fine. Unfortunately, I found little evidence that Hal was funny or had ever been funny. Other than Pavel, most of the characters were flat and not fully developed. It was a slog to get through the book. I expected a better effort from Fesperman.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it had that thriller element that I was looking for and was hooked from the first page. It was suspenseful and had that element that I was hoping for and enjoyed in the genre. Dan Fesperman was able to weave a strong story and was glad I was able to read this. The characters were a strong element in this book and am excited to read more from Dan Fesperman.

Dan Fesperman has been a staple of espionage novels for me since the early 2000’s. I especially like his series with CIA Agent Claire Saylor (Safe Houses, The Cover Wife and Winter Work). But Fesperman’s latest, Pariah, is a stand-alone about a comedian who has been cancelled for sexist comments which went viral. This comedian, Hal Knight, goes to a made-up Baltic country called Bolrovia because the Dictator President is a big fan and the CIA asks him to go. Apparently, the CIA wants Knight to see if he can pick up any information by just hanging out with the President. Not a very probable plotline at the outset.
The synopsis did not thrill me and truthfully, neither did the book. I never did find a character to like, and for me that is a problem in any novel. The one “more” honorable character who was Knight’s handler in Bolrovia, does not get enough attention in the novel to actually bring the reader to his side until the very end. I do not like made-up countries – Bolrovia? Why not use a real country and change the President’s name? That illustrates my problem with the book.
Up until this novel of Fesperman’s, all his espionage books have been realistic which is actually a requirement for spy novels! Any silliness at all and the believability of the novel goes out the window. In Pariah, there is a great deal of suspension of disbelief, thus making the novel less serious.
First Hal Knight is thinking of killing himself due to the cancelling and has taken himself off to a small tropical island to drink and brood before the CIA finds him. One thing goes wrong in this man’s life and he falls apart. Then off to an unreal country with a quirky President who has memorized all Knight’s juvenile movie lines. Next, Knight wonders around sticking his nose into all sorts of business he could not and would not be capable of in real life, all while the overtly evil security chief threatens him and chases him across the country.
I will say that I was interested in how Knight would extradite himself from this mess and finally redeem himself. Not because I liked him enough to care, but because I respect Fesperman’s other writings and could not imagine the author leaving the reader without an adequate ending. I will let you decide if you are happy with the ending. Suffice it to say, at least the action picked up.
I recommend ALL of Fesperman’s other espionage books wholeheartedly; but Pariah is only for those who like a bit of tongue-in-cheek lightness to their spy novels.

This ARC title was provided by Netgalley.com at no cost, and I am providing an unbiased review. Pariah will be published on July 22, 2025.

This book is just a little off-center from the traditional spy novel – and one that is enjoyable on many levels.
I gave it the following SCORE:
Setting: Present day, Vieques and the fictional country of Bolrovia
Characters: Hal Knight, a former comedian and elected official, several key members of the CIA, other suspicious operatives, and an engaging, varied cast of characters in the Bolrovian regime
Overview: Hal Knight has made a critical error and is disgraced on Capitol Hill, leading him to seek solace on the island of Vieques. Nikolai Horvatz, Bolrovia’s oligarch, is captivated by Hal’s comedic talent and invites him to perform. The CIA looks at this as an ideal opportunity to convince Hal out of his self-imposed isolation and infiltrate Bolrovia’s inner circle to obtain secret information.
Recommendation: I rate this book 5 stars
Extras: This story is less serious than Fesperman’s previous books. It is more of a tongue-in-cheek, nip-and-tuck story, than his by-the-book, tried-and-true spy tales. It is thoroughly amusing and entertaining.
Thanx to NetGalley and Knopf for the opportunity to provide this candid review.

I interesting book that I would recommend for anyone interested in political type thrillers. Well written and with a good plot many people would love it. I am not a political fiction fan.

Dan Fesperman’s “Pariah” is nothing if not topical, with its story of a disgraced comedian recruited by U.S. intelligence operatives to be their eyes and ears on the ground in an Eastern European country headed by an authoritarian leader manifestly patterned on Hungary’s Viktor Orban.
More than just a spy story, though, the novel clearly aspires to be, with the comedian carrying around a Philip Roth novel with a particular passage he has bracketed. But for the most part the novel ensconces itself in traditional spy novel territory, with much topicality, including clear references not just to Orban but Tucker Carlson.
Also, in an irritating tic for me, the novel here and there abandons its usual close-third-person voice for an omniscient remark such as “spies do not sleep like you and me” or “a house … lives and breathes.” Still, with the Roth references and the overall quality of its writing, the book is a cut above the usual spy novel and will no doubt prove engaging fare for fans of that genre.