BookView Review

In Jacuzzi’s latest geopolitical thriller, a seasoned Canadian operative is pulled back into the shadows when an elite intelligence alliance begins to unravel. Dalton Drake, ex-CSIS and head of a private intel firm, is on vacation in San Francisco with his wife Abby, a decorated RAF pilot, and his newly discovered adult son, Ethan. But when the U.S. Vice President calls them to a secret dinner, Drake realizes something is terribly wrong. Joined by Abby and Ethan, Drake begins to investigate. As dead informants pile up and encrypted secrets go live, one thing becomes clear: someone is leaking vital information—and they’re aiming to bring the West to its knees.

Jacuzzi writes with precision and a steady hand. He fuses the taut, suspicious atmosphere of Cold War-era thrillers with the streamlined suspense of modern-day techno-espionage. Though the tactical encounters are gripping and finely executed, the novel’s real strength lies in its atmosphere of quiet paranoia. Drake is a firm hand at the center, but it’s the fraying edges—the shifting loyalties and uneasy alliances—that keep the tension simmering. At once timely and urgent, the book explores the terrifying consequences of compromised surveillance in an age when information is the deadliest weapon.

A deftly orchestrated, globe-trotting espionage thriller with grit, intelligence, and a cold, clear warning about the systems we rely on to keep us safe.

***