But it’s not the last we’re going to hear from McCloskey (and maybe Sam, too). The erstwhile CIA man has outlines for two other Syria books, and hints at a third that focuses on Russia. Superb breathlessly gripping thrilling & truly terrifying, written in unadorned style by an CIA agent, almost real in its details of CIA espionage in Syria, savage feuds within Assad palace, intrigues of Mideast. Highly recommended‘– Simon Sebag Montefiore Don’t miss this enthralling standout debut, one of the best to come across my desk in recent years’ – Adam LeBor, Financial Times

But the cat and mouse chase for the killer soon leads to a trail of high-profile assassinations and the discovery of a dark secret at the heart of the Syrian regime, bringing the pair under the all-seeing eyes of Assad’s spy catcher, Ali Hassan, and his brother Rustum, the head of the feared Republican Guard. Whereas I remain unable to sit through an episode of Homeland or 24, I was impressed and grateful for McCloskey’s ability to integrate just enough reality. Damascus Station is simply marvellous storytelling...a stand-out thriller and essential reading for fans of the genre' - Financial Times

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That is completely the figment of my imagination,” McCloskey said in an interview with SpyTalk . “We absolutely do provide pretty basic hand-to-hand combat training to case officers, far less than anyone would probably believe, or certainly what Hollywood would portray. But I think the idea of having a case officer doing this kind of felt reasonable to me from a recruitment standpoint, that you're trying to develop somebody and do something with them. You learn about them. It's kind of intimate.” His main character, Samuel Joseph, hews more to the middle of the spectrum between Jason Bourne and George Smiley, and that’s not a bad thing. He is a master of his craft, but possesses a self-awareness and self-reflection that makes him human. His absolutely verboten indiscretion of becoming romantically and physically entangled with his agent Miriam, certainly raises the stakes in the plot.

Mr. McCloskey, who grew up in Minnesota and studied international relations, worked as a political analyst in CIA headquarters and from field stations in the Middle East. A daring CIA operation threatens chaos in the Kremlin. But can Langley trust the Russian at its center? Protect your agent. It’s all that matters,” Sam Joseph reminds himself in the midst of a perfect storm of personal and professional crises while a looming threat places thousands of innocent lives at risk. Superb breathlessly gripping thrilling & truly terrifying, written in unadorned style by an CIA agent, almost real in its details of CIA espionage in Syria, savage feuds within Assad palace, intrigues of Mideast. Highly recommended' - Simon Sebag MontefioreFor an authentic representation of what it’s like to work in intelligence, look no further than Damascus Station. McCloskey has captured it all: the breathtaking close calls, the hand in glove of tech and ops, the heartbreaking disappointments, the thrill of a hard-won victory’– Alma Katsu, author of Red Widow and former CIA and NSA analyst The tradecraft on display is riveting, far more so than any shoot-out. Running a multi-hour, cross-city surveillance detection route (SDR) is likely thrilling in practice, but does not on first glance make for riveting reading. Yet, McCloskey brings the reader along through every twist and turn, offering a glimpse, albeit incredibly limited, of what it must be like to be an Operations Officer in a hostile environment. Dagher also brings the civil war home, connecting the reader with every day average Syrians. He writes affectionally of those fighting to survive on the front line, continuing to advocate (at the time of writing) for freedom and reform, and those part of the Local Coordination Committees—organizers of and reporters on, the protests on-the-ground. The tragedy is that the reader knows, especially now, that their efforts will not prove to be successful. Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. What happens at the end of my trial? Joseph, the protagonist of former CIA analyst David McCloskey’s exciting spy novel, Damascus Station, is vividly depicted as a real person. He must navigate his own emotions, the accurately captured and ironically rigid government administrative hoops found even in espionage, and the various evil villains hot on his trail. Indeed, not even James Bond would have been able to convince McCloskey’s caricature of a long-in-the-tooth CIA support officer to bump 007 up from economy class on a flight under 14 hours, even at the risk of the world coming to an end.

The tension builds as we meet a cross-section of Syrian society, the impoverished, the falsely accused, the torturers themselves who pull out fingernails, then go home from work to play with their children. What McCloskey gets right—and what is more important to me than how he depicts the mechanics of executing a clandestine meeting—are the feelings. McCloskey’s case officers are passionate, driven, and, in some cases, obsessive about their mission and craft. It’s not a job but rather a life. And you don’t switch it off when you’re home, particularly in a foreign field environment, where everything you do is deliberately planned and calculated to present the persona and pattern of life required to spy effectively. Abandoning the United States ’ red line opened the door for greater Russian and Iranian involvement that strengthened Assad’s hand, solidified his will, and brought years of greater suffering.I remember a rather uncomfortable and awkward August 2013 meeting with a Middle East intelligence service chief whose country was deeply, publicly, and covertly invested in supporting Obama’s call for Assad’s removal. In hindsight, I remain surprised that his goons did not toss me from his office window as I attempted to spin how the United States had, in fact, not abandoned the Syrian people and the United States’ allies. One of the best spy thrillers for years … McCloskey is a former CIA analyst who worked in the Middle East. As with le Carré, much of the fascination of his writing comes from his insider’s knowledge of spying’s shadow ballet … Treat yourself to a walk along the Street Called Straight: you won’t find a more compelling guide than David McCloskey’ The Times

David McCloskey is a former CIA analyst … the book is energised by his own experience’– The Times Best Books of 2023 So Far In reading “Damascus Station” I was immediately reminded of Sam Dagher’s exceptional 2019 book, “ Assad or We Burn the Country”. McCloskey offers just enough about the Syrian Civil War to get the reader up to speed and to set the scene for the plot to unfold (and make the reader curious about more). Dagher’s exploration drills down into the Assad family’s inner workings, decision-making, and the lengths it would go to stay in power (which McCloskey reflects in his story). McCloskey says that the specifics of the story—time, place,and major characters—are purely fictional, including an instance of Sam engaging in a martial arts training session with his undercover operative and love interest, both being trained by an Israeli instructor. Damascus Station is simply marvellous storytelling… a stand-out thriller and essential reading for fans of the genre’– Financial Times