CIA Novels I Was Surprised to Like a Lot
It was one of those weekends when I needed to stay up till 4 a.m., reading anything. First came John Grisham's The Broker. I've avoided Grisham before, thinking, you know, "popular thrillers--not my thing." But I was wrong. The Broker, once "the second most powerful man in Washington" has spent six years in prison for trying to sell secrets to the Saudis. Then the CIA inexplicably frees him and sends him to Italy, where he learns Italian and finds love. The problem is that the Israeli and Chinese governments want him dead--and so does the CIA. The novel's completely engrossing, full of quirky detail and plot twists.
Next up was Don DeLillo's Libra, which I'd avoided because, hey, I know that story. I've read Case Closed. Half awake, I sometimes felt I was reading another part of The Broker--the same creepy CIA guys (yes, in Libra, Oswald did not act alone), the same "Langley" references. The strength here is in DeLillo's mastery of voice and the shifting point of view. Next to Jack Ruby, Lee looks almost reasonable, a vulnerable, confused victim of forces larger than he.
