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Beth Macy
Author
Moscow Nights Return
Beth H. Macy, author
Moscow Nights Return, 90,361 words long, is a gripping spy suspense/thriller that brings alive flawed characters and interweaves their lives in a high-speed chase through Moscow, St. Petersburg, Hamburg, Amsterdam, the UK, and the USA. The book opens in Moscow in 1990, during the Cold War, bringing that conflict into the current time, through the eyes of master spies. The protagonist, Elda Ainsworth, cut her teeth as a spy in the Cold War. Elda ex-Navy, a married lesbian, and semi-retired, is quietly living in the bucolic Northeast of the United States. She has been activated by the American government to extract her friend, Korinna Federov, a Russian translator for the Kremlin. Elda is now pitted again against her old nemesis, Toshchiy Chelovek, in a new Cold War. Elda’s background as a military analyst, personal trainer, and psychologist makes her a formidable opponent. Toshchiy Chelovek, the Kremlin’s spy handler was an active agent in the Cold War and is the brains behind the assassin, Anatoly Petrov. Tosh has never been defeated. His photographic memory contains vast store of information across many years and missions. Trained by the KGB, Anatoly was born to be a killing machine, and he thoroughly enjoys his work. Anatoly is cold-blooded and obsessive compulsive about his tools of the trade. Korinna lives in Moscow with her husband, Egor and their two little dogs. Korinna, requests that she, Egor and the two dogs all be safely removed from Russia and does not trust anyone aside from Elda to help her. The reader travels on a suspenseful trip, while Elda works to outwit Tosh and Anatoly to bring Korinna and her family back to the United States. In the end, Elda has obtained the upper hand and has brought Korinna, Egor and their two dogs safely to the United States, but the stage is also set for a future rematch between the two old spies, Tosh and Elda.
Reviews
In this irresistible, frighteningly plausible spy thriller, the first of a trilogy, debut novelist Macy takes readers back to 2018 and the Trump presidency with Elda Ainsworth, a Navy veteran, Cold War-era American spy in semi-retirement in Maine. At the request of top CIA operatives, Elda is racing to get her longtime translator friend, Korinna, out of Russia before Putin has her assassinated for translating discussions involving the president of the United States, including U.S. election interference. “The consequences of that information getting out will topple the American president and weaken Russia,” muses a longtime Russian spy named Toshchiy “Tosh” Chelovek and Elda’s adversary of many years. Plucky Elda is up for the extraction attempt, but her wife Dawn is less than happy about it.

What happens next is a fast-paced rollercoaster ride, as Elda lands in Moscow and deftly dodges numerous assassination attempts (many committed by Tosh’s favorite Russian assassin, Anatoly Petrov) in her quest to rescue Korinna, her musician husband Egor, and their two small Troodle dogs, Dasha and Sasha. As Korinna and Elda stay one step ahead of those who wish them dead, they head from Moscow to St. Petersburg to Germany to the Netherlands, among other locations—with means of transport including container ships, U.S. Navy ships, luxury railroads and even Jet Skis. Disguises are abundant, and Macy skillfully deploys these and other fun elements of spycraft in surprising ways readers will relish.

Macy mines her own past for Elda’s striking authenticity—she is a former officer in the US Navy and a mathematics teacher; the latter is Elda’s cover story in Russia. Macy’s story is impeccably plotted and touchingly humane, with characters both good and bad. Readers will undoubtedly want to off Elda’s drug-addicted half-brother, a supporting character with a very high and unjustified view of himself, but they will bond with Elda’s CIA boss. This smart, high-paced tale will delight fans of high-stakes thrillers.

Takeaway: Pulse-pounding espionage with a strong heroine and emotional resonance.

Comparable Titles: Lindsay Smith’s Sekret, T.A. Maclagan’s Alexandra Gastone series.

Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-

Self-Publishing Review

"A fast-paced plunge into contemporary spycraft with some classic Cold War twists, Moscow Nights Return is a gripping international thriller. The plot is keenly crafted and original, and the intensity and minutiae of espionage on both small and large scales is a highlight, painting a shadowy portrait of double lives engaging in surprising layers of deception, which results in an engrossing work of spy fiction." Self-Publishing Review

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