Deep Lie

Stuart Woods

This is a political thriller that involves 1980's cold war Soviet Union, United States, and Sweden. The head of the Soviet Bureau of the CIA is certain that a secretive military expert in the Soviet Union has something being planned. Nobody within the CIA will listen to her and she is putting her career in jeopardy. She realizes she will have to circumvent some channels.

In the Soviet Union a submarine captain is transferred to a new division, an elite division whose purpose is to infiltrate and start a war. He is excited with his new posting and proud to carry out a covert action near Stockholm. When his sub sinks he is able to use his Swedish and his cover story while he tries to return to his base.

This is an interesting examination of Americans' attitudes during the '80's when it was published. It kept my attention even though I knew it was outdated. I enjoyed following the dual story in Washington D.C. and at the Soviet SPETSNAZ special forces base. The main characters both were able to catch my sympathy. The final denouement of the last spy caught me off guard - I had it pegged wrong.