Lauren Wilkinson

A BARACK OBAMA SUMMER READING 2019 PICK SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2019 CENTRE FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE 'A whole lot more than just a spy thriller, wrapping together the ties of family, of love and of country' BARACK OBAMA 'There has never been anything like it' MARLON JAMES (GQ) 'A compelling read' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Pacy and very exciting' DAILY TELEGRAPH __________________________________ What if your sense of duty required you to betray the man you love? It's 1986, the heart of the Cold War. Marie Mitchell is an intelligence officer with the FBI. She's brilliant and talented, but she's also a black woman working in an all-white boys' club, and her career has stalled with routine paperwork - until she's recruited to a shadowy task force aimed at undermining Thomas Sankara, the charismatic, revolutionary president of Burkina Faso, whose Communist ideology has made him a target for American intervention. In the year that follows, Marie will observe Thomas, seduce him, and ultimately, have a hand in the coup that will bring him down. But doing so will change everything she believes about what it means to be a spy, a lover, and a good American. 'A stunning book' PAUL BEATTY 'Intelligent and propulsive' GUARDIAN 'A spy thriller like you've never read before' TIME

a Cold War spy thriller like you've never read before

American Spy

"It's 1986, the heart of the Cold War, and Marie Mitchell is an intelligence officer with the FBI. She's brilliant, but she's also a young black woman working in an old boys' club. Her career has stalled out, she's overlooked for every high-profile squad, and her days are filled with monotonous paperwork. So when she's given the opportunity to join a shadowy task force aimed at undermining Thomas Sankara, the charismatic revolutionary president of Burkina Faso whose Communist ideology has made him a target for American intervention, she says yes. Yes, even though she secretly admires the work Sankara is doing for his country. Yes, even though she is still grieving the mysterious death of her sister, whose example led Marie to this career path in the first place. Yes, even though a furious part of her suspects she's being offered the job because of her appearance and not her talent. In the year that follows, Marie will observe Sankara, seduce him, and ultimately have a hand in the coup that will bring him down. But doing so will change everything she believes about what it means to be a spy, a lover, a sister, and a good American. "--Provided by publisher.

Patrick Book

This was a terrific, character-driven work disguised as an espionage thriller. Wilkinson offers an insightful narrative that is as much about the Black experience in America as it is about political intrigue and spy craft.

"[This] unflinching, incendiary debut combines the espionage novels of John le Carré with the racial complexity of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) What if your sense of duty required you to betray the man you love? It's 1986, the heart of the Cold War, and Marie Mitchell is an intelligence officer with the FBI. She's brilliant, but she's also a young black woman working in an old boys' club. Her career has stalled out, she's overlooked for every high-profile squad, and her days are filled with monotonous paperwork. So when she's given the opportunity to join a shadowy task force aimed at undermining Thomas Sankara, the charismatic revolutionary president of Burkina Faso whose Communist ideology has made him a target for American intervention, she says yes. Yes, even though she secretly admires the work Sankara is doing for his country. Yes, even though she is still grieving the mysterious death of her sister, whose example led Marie to this career path in the first place. Yes, even though a furious part of her suspects she's being offered the job because of her appearance and not her talent. In the year that follows, Marie will observe Sankara, seduce him, and ultimately have a hand in the coup that will bring him down. But doing so will change everything she believes about what it means to be a spy, a lover, a sister, and a good American. Inspired by true events--Thomas Sankara is known as "Africa's Che Guevara"--American Spy knits together a gripping spy thriller, a heartbreaking family drama, and a passionate romance. This is a face of the Cold War you've never seen before, and it introduces a powerful new literary voice. Advance praise for American Spy "Echoing the stoic cynicism of Hurston and Ellison, and the verve of Conan Doyle, American Spy lays our complicities--political, racial, and sexual--bare. Packed with unforgettable characters, it's a stunning book, timely as it is timeless."--Paul Beatty, Man Booker Prizewinning author of The Sellout "American Spy is by turns suspenseful, tender, and funny, always smart and searingly honest. Lauren Wilkinson renders the world of spies with vivacity and depth, and shines a penetrating light on what it's like to be a black woman in America. But like all great novels, this one teaches us most about ourselves and our values. "--Sara Nović, author of Girl at War

Sonia Grgas

I should have liked this book more. It was in my genre wheelhouse, well written and a good story that did hold my interest. I never came to care about the characters, except one and he wasn’t in it enough. But I don’t want to discourage anyone from reading it. If you like the description, give it a try, you might like better than I.

Meghan Navoy

Really enjoyed this book. An interesting story and written in a unique way as a letter to her children and going back and forth in time.

Shona Tiger

Hmm, I don't know. It's a very good read, especially the Africa bits (which I found engaging); but the characters' motivations seemed odd and unknowable, and that made me disconnect a lot. (Could be because of the form - a letter/diary). Also really unsettled by the central character thing.

Amy Thibodeau

This book had a lot of promise and strong writing. I didn’t like the plot device that it was written as a letter because it kept taking me out of the action and lowered the stakes and active feeling of the plot. I’ll definitely read Wilkenson’s next book. I think she’s got enormous promise as a writer and I’m looking forward to seeing what she does next.

A BARACK OBAMA SUMMER READING PICKSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2019 CENTRE FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE'A whole lot more than just a spy thriller, wrapping together the ties of family, of love and of country' BARACK OBAMA'There has never been anything like it' MARLON JAMES (GQ)'A compelling read' MAIL ON SUNDAY'Pacy and very exciting' DAILY TELEGRAPH__________________________________What if your sense of duty required you to betray the man you love? It's 1986, the heart of the Cold War. Marie Mitchell is an intelligence officer with the FBI. She's brilliant and talented, but she's also a black woman working in an all-white boys' club, and her career has stalled with routine paperwork - until she's recruited to a shadowy task force aimed at undermining Thomas Sankara, the charismatic, revolutionary president of Burkina Faso, whose Communist ideology has made him a target for American intervention.In the year that follows, Marie will observe Thomas, seduce him, and ultimately, have a hand in the coup that will bring him down. But doing so will change everything she believes about what it means to be a spy, a lover, and a good American.'A stunning book' PAUL BEATTY'Intelligent and propulsive' GUARDIAN 'A spy thriller like you've never read before' TIME

Fraser Simons

Not what I had expected from something appearing to be soy fiction, but the mismatched expectations helped the fiction overall, I think. I’m not sure if it’s intentionally subversive. Ideologically it certainly seems to be when compared to a typical spy/thriller style book. 

The book is written as though the main character is leaving the story of her life for her young children, jumping back and forth from her young life to more current events, and why she is leaving her children in the first place and leaving her story behind. 

It’s a fairly slow story with not much action. But it was interesting throughout. The most interesting part was her perspective in the FBI/ CIA/ American ideologies, in general—especially as it is executed abroad.

Rose Stanley

The ending is good but it feels abrupt, after the time we took to get there. Interesting read though.

Brianne Kendall

Black female espionage!!! Need I say anything else. Lauren Wilkinson's debut novel was engaging and griping, enthralling at every turn in narration. I can't wait for more Wilkinson books!

Devin Mainville

American Spy wasn’t the book I was expecting, but it was one that I ended up loving. In this slow burn, Marie Mitchell is lured away from her dead end job with the FBI to go undercover in a shady operation looking to take down the communist backed leader of Burkina Faso during the height of the Cold War. 

When you hear “spy novel” you might, like me, be envisioning a fast paced suspense thriller, but American Spy is much more John le Carré than Tom Clancy. But that slower pace gives the story space to breathe and really explore its ideas on what it means to be a Black American tasked with protecting and defending a country that doesn’t protect or defend you. 

I also learned a lot about the history of Burkina Faso and the way the Cold War was played out with foreign countries. 

My only quibble is that, due to the narrative device that the book is actually a letter to Marie’s sons, it ends rather abruptly and left me wanting more concrete answers than it was interested in giving.

Chelsea White

A spy novel from a perspective rarely shown! The story was captivating, and untangling the thread with Marie about her mission was equally horrifying and expected (on a certain level). I found myself listening to this book long after my walks were over, which is rare for me. There’s a lot to say on the ways racism, imperialism and sexism shaped Marie’s life and “mission”, but I don’t feel qualified to talk about it. I will say that listening to the different higher ups justify interfering in another country’s government was a sad reminder that we do that all. The. Time.

Christian Beck

This is a much better novel if you ignore the marketing and dust jacket quotes calling this a spy thriller. Instead it reads like a love letter from a mother to her sons. It took me a while to make that connection but once I did, the book changed for me. Go in with that perspective, and I think this a great read.

American Spy a Cold War spy thriller like you've never read before

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