The Right Book at the Right Time

Title: The Expats

Author: Chris Pavone

Publisher: Crown, 2012

Summary: If you love John Le Carre, Graham Greene, Frederick Forsythe you will absolutely love this debut thriller from Chris Pavone. Picture George Smiley as a female and you have protagonist, Kate Moore – average government bureaucrat or master spy? Kate Moore living the bucolic life of an expat in Luxembourg with her secretive financial industryhusband and two  children, taking coffee with other expat wives, weekend jaunts to the Alps all seemingly part of a normal life. As they travel around Europe, Kate’s long dormant training kicks in, she launches a covert investigation into her new “friends”, uncovering secrets and deceit. Pavone is genius in melding Kate’s feminine instincts with her spy craft which is most evident when her suspicions about an American couple who have befriended her and her husband uncover the couple as a fraud. Their activities did not overtly give them away it was more subtle nuances in their relationship and behavior that only a woman would notice and Pavone  captures perfectly. Pair her suspicions with a husband acting bizarre and a sordid past that may be finally catching up with her and you have a fast-paced, unpredictable and fresh masterpiece from Chris Pavone.

A carefully woven smart thriller that does not disappoint and will leave you craving more.

Who will like this?:  Anyone who enjoys a fast-paced thriller or has read other spy novels and enjoyed them. Anyone who enjoys a crafty and strong lead female character.

If you like this, try this: Other thrill/spy writers such as Graham Greene or John LeCarre.

Recommended by: Dawn, Assistant Director

A second look:

Kate Moore is an expat in Luxembourg, trying to adjust to her new life of full-time motherhood in a foreign country.  Having left her old CIA job behind to support her husband and this move, her dreams for the future are nothing but rosy.  But nothing is ever as it seems, and as she begins to make a new life and new friends she is increasingly aware that the old life and her very deep secret can never be left completely behind.  Is her old life catching up with her or does her husband have a deep dark secret of his own that is causing the problems she faces now?

You will love this book if you’ve read Robert Ludlum or John LeCarre in the past, or if you’d just like a great read with lots of twists.

Recommended by: Linda Q, Circulation Assistant

Think you may want to read this? You can visit the Fairfield Public Library catalog to check availability or place a hold!