One of my favorite mystery/thriller sub-genres is espionage novels. Perhaps that is why I was so looking forward to Kathleen Kent’s latest novel, Black Wolf. Kent has written three novels I have enjoyed about a Dallas detective, starting with The Dime. I had every reason to believe that Kent would approach espionage thrillers as she did mysteries. With serious prose and written with accurate detail.
Black Wolf is disappointing in that it is almost ridiculously plotted while the characters are stilted, and at times, simply silly. This novel reminds me of Helen MacInnes’ novels — and I used to love those “foreign affair” novels with romance and accidental spies running around Europe. But MacInnes wrote in the 1940s through the 1970s, and I believe that espionage novels have undergone a tremendous quality upswing since then. And certainly female characters are no longer incompetent and horrible at spy craft.
Black Wolf does take place in the 1990s and not in 2023, but if the reader is to be brought back in time in a story, stereotypes about women should not shine throughout the book — regardless of setting. Our heroine, Melvina, is a CIA agent who along with three CIA agents goes to Belarus under cover to gather intelligence about which other foreign governments are interested in the newly independent country’s nuclear plans. And there is a serial killer on the loose. And the lead KGB officer takes an odd interest in Melvina…
Though a professional CIA agent who was an FBI agent as well, Melvina often feels lightheaded when a certain handsome soldier comes into the room — to the point that she messes up her mission because she can’t stop thinking of his body. She does outrageously risky actions to gain intelligence without fear of being caught, but she and the other agents get drunk quite often putting their cover story at risk numerous times. At one point Melvina says she knows of a mixture which stops dogs from being able to track humans when spread around them on the ground. Without any other information but Melvina’s word, the CIA agents head into danger, try this mixture on dogs on their trail and surprise (!), it fails.
Over and over as I read, I was brought out of the novel to think that this or that plot twist was silly. That the characters were not acting professionally. At one point Melvina writes a safe house address on her hand in ink as she sets out on a mission. And surprise (!) when she is caught, she immediately reveals her mission to her captor. If I had wanted to read Helen MacInnes again, I think I would be able to forgive her the high school romance plot lines and the sexist need for a man to come save the inexperienced woman. But I cannot forgive Kent in 2023. My rating: 2 of 5
This ARC title was provided by Netgalley.com at no cost, and I am providing an unbiased review. Black Wolf was published on February 14, 2023.
Pam Did It 