THE FOREVER SPY by Jeffrey Layton is a story about international espionage between the United States, Russia, and China. Yuri Kirov, a former Russian officer/spy, is forced into an international conflict where half truths and partial lies are everywhere and Yuri has to determine who and what he can really trust, especially when his wife and child are violently brought into the mix.
Layton lays out an interesting plot, with personal connections and loyalties are often questioned and sometimes strengthened, but the characters are a little obvious for me. I wasn't really surprised or shocked by any choice a character made and I could predict just about every choice they did make. A wild card character or a few questionable choices I think would have made for a more interesting book. That being said, I did like and pull for the good guys and want to see the demise of the bad. Not being well versed in aquatic terminology and weaponry, I feel a little behind and at times and slow to understand what I was reading, but mostly I was able to piece together what was going on and how the action played out in the water. Towards the end of the book, as any good thriller should do, I found myself reading faster and faster because I couldn't wait to see what happened at the end.
A good espionage/thriller, I enjoyed A FOREVER SPY and I would read another book in the Yuri Kirov series in the future.
Thank you to Kensington Books/Pinnacle, Jeffrey Layton, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ( )