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Need to Know

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Need to Know

By: Karen Cleveland
Narrated by: Mia Barron
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About this listen

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Need to Know by Karen Cleveland, read by Mia Barron.

Perfect Husband. Perfect Father. Perfect Liar?

Vivian Miller is a CIA analyst assigned to uncover Russian sleeper cells in the USA. After accessing the computer of a potential Russian spy, she stumbles on a secret dossier of deep-cover agents living in her own country. Five seemingly normal people living in plain sight.

A few clicks later, everything that matters to Vivian is threatened - her job, her husband, even her four children. Vivian has vowed to defend her country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. But now she's facing impossible choices. Torn between loyalty and betrayal, allegiance and treason, love and suspicion, whom can she trust?

Will her next move be the right one?

©2018 Karen Cleveland (P)2018 Random House AudioBooks Espionage Family Life Genre Fiction International Mystery & Crime Mystery Psychological Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Marriage Thriller

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Critic reviews

"You'll devour this terrific debut like the rest of us, skipping lunch, losing sleep, turning pages until the end." (John Grisham)
"Karen Cleveland is the real deal - an exciting new voice in thrillers." (Patricia Cornwell)
"Prediction: if you read chapter one, you'll read chapter two. If you read chapter two, you'll miss dinner, stay up far too late, and feel tired at work tomorrow. This is that kind of book. Superb." (Lee Child)
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This was a good read. From the synopsis, I thought it was going to be slightly different to what it was. I was hoping for an all action spy thriller, but it was more of a family drama with a bit of espionage thrown in.
Good, but could have been great.

Need To Know

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Great, right from the start. Well written and the perfect balance between believable and fantasy.

Fantastic listen

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I really loved this book. Couldn’t stop listening to it. A great twist at the end which I hadn’t expected

Amazing book

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Interesting to have a female angle rather than the stereotypical male. No spoilers :)

Roller coaster spy story

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Just as it got going, it very suddenly ended, with 50% obvious, 50% intriguing ending, that begs for a sequel. I enjoyed it, albeit I didn't warm to the protagonist who I repeatedly wanted to shake with frustration, nor the husband whose deep cover I can't begin to believe would be possible over such a long term.

Would I read the sequel? Probably, but with lower expectations than I had of this.

A middling effort...

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I had never done an audio before. the plot was exciting and when I thought the resolution had come to an end something quite unexpected happened.

unexpected

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Enough in the story to keep you engaged and more interesting as it’s told from a family perspective rather than a work one. But it reads more like screen writing, you can’t help imagine it as a film, which shouldn’t be the case. So a bit clichéd and formulaic. Narration to my English ears was continually irritating but it’s an American story for an American audience.

Cliché

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Taut, tense and tantalising, Need To Know is an extremely impressive debut thriller from Karen Cleveland. Mixing international intrigue with domestic drama it is deftly paced and interspersed with clever plot twists. It actually wasn't quite the book I imagined. Cleveland is an ex-CIA analyst and mother writing about a CIA analyst who is also a mother . . . I had imagined that the selling point would be that it would contain significant CIA procedural detail. Instead Cleveland has demonstrated a true writer's craft and the story is insightful without being in any way overburdened by procedural or technical detail. Her knowledge is used to provide authenticity but is never allowed to cloud the plot or get in the way of her well formed characters.

To add to that the narration by Mia Barron, who is also someone new to me, is excellent. She brings the lead Vivian to life, carries the narrative and is not at all phased by a varied cast of supporting characters. Mixing these ingredients together delivers an extremely smooth and tasty dish of a thriller.

So a new author and a new narrator I'll be looking out for more from!

Not Just One But Two Great Discoveries!

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This story is curiously unsophisticated . The heroine is extremely gullible yet she is a senior operative on the Russian desk at the FBI. If you can accept this you will have a hard time swallowing the twists and turns in the plot which continue right up to the last page.

A highly unlikely thriller

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A couple of chapters into the book and I was stimulated by the storyline; the concept of discovering something earthshaking about your spouse. I am afraid my ardour began to wilter as I suffered the constant repetion of concern for the children and the inadequacy of properly interrogating the husband about his activities and behaviour. The relationship flashbacks not only demonstrated the husband's guile but the lack of suspicion and doubt that a high-flyer in the intelligence service would undoubtedly have if presented with the circumstances. There was a section in the middle of the novel which was intriguing and gripping but it petered out into a very unsatisfactory ending which did not seem credible and not one, but two superiors (the only ones mentioned) who must have almost bumped into each other whilst displaying their enforced or true loyalties. The ending, although predictable, really did not hold water for me.
If I were the teacher, six out of ten. Good idea but needed more thought and work before publishing.
The narration was undoubtedly good but suffered from having to say too many times 'All I care about are the children' or similar.

Initially / Enthralled - Ultimately/Disappointed

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