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MWSA Review
Stealing Stealth by Brian L. Reece is a mystery thriller worth reading. Gabrielle Hyde is a lovely, devious, athletic, cunning con who could out-plan a chess master. She befuddles both FBI and CIA agents with a team of specialists and the ability to think several steps ahead of others. There’s not only a Plan B that her team knows about but always another secret plan.
During the Cold War in the 1970s, stealth technology is just being developed, and whoever owns it changes the balance of power. A disgraced CIA agent, a disgraced FBI agent, and the female con artist who disgraced them are teamed by President Carter’s administration to find out how released US research documents on stealth was leaked. It is an uneasy relationship of people who are trained to trust no one.
Just when you think you have the story all figured out, there is another twist. Twist upon twist upon twist. Who do you trust? What does Gabrielle do when she’s off on her own? Why is she on that roof? Is the best way to keep the stealth documents from the Russians to steal them, especially since it’s the con’s plan? There are even Cray computers in the secretive Skunk Works facility where the documents are kept and many layers of security.
Along the way, CIA agent Olson learns about Hyde’s personal story and her ethics. He also questions his agency and his own future. They face a shared enemy from their pasts.
The author’s background lends authenticity to his debut novel. As someone who spent years in special operations and strategic command, he is well aware of what happens when plans meet reality. His background also includes cinematic storytelling, so he knows how to move a story along. This is a winning combination.
Review by Nancy Kauffman
Author's Synopsis
The only way to protect the ultimate secret is to steal it.
1977. Deep inside the secretive Skunk Works facility, the United States is forging its biggest advantage of the Cold War: Stealth technology. Invisible to radar, it will shift the global balance of power forever. But a traitor at the highest level is about to hand the blueprints to the Soviets.
CIA Officer John Olson has seven days to stop the leak. But his agency is compromised, the FBI is hunting him, and the official protocols are a suicide pact. Out of time and out of options, Olson realizes he can’t save the program by following the rules. He has to break them.
Olson turns to the only person capable of stealing the unstealable: Gabrielle Hyde. The brilliant, elusive con artist he spent a decade hunting is now his only hope.
Together, they must launch an elaborate con against the U.S. government itself. From the dusty streets of Africa to the high-security vaults of Los Angeles, they must outwit a ruthless KGB assassin and a vengeful FBI agent to pull off the greatest heist in military history.
Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 472 / 127,000