"Ignatius has written several top-notch spy thrillers, but [The Paladin] may be his most gripping yet…Love it for its old-school suspense or for its ultramodern vision of technology run amok, but love it you will."

"No spy novelist knows the world of American spookery better than Ignatius.… His latest complex, well-informed work is one of his best."

"This is one of those rare novels that you will want to read twice—the first time for the enjoyment, and the second time to take note of how Ignatius does what he does so well."

"A delicious layer cake of a book—tension, suspense, betrayal, and revenge, all floating on a bedrock of total authenticity…David Ignatius is the best in the world at this stuff."

"A page turner… [and] a chilling story of the way the Internet has been weaponized."

"For me nothing is more intriguing than life inside our intelligence agencies. In The Paladin, David Ignatius uses his decades’ worth of reporting experience to take us there in this fast-moving, jaw-dropping drama that reads like it was ripped from the headlines. I recommend you grab a copy and hold on tight for the entire thrilling ride."

"The Paladin is a terrific read, a great spy thriller for the cyber age—and as with The Quantum Spy, it likely anticipates the future quite presciently."

"David Ignatius once again takes readers behind the scenes of America’s most secretive bureaucracy, revealing in fiction what could never be declassified in fact. The Paladin is yet another stirring read from a revered reporter and gifted storyteller."

2020-02-09
CIA tech specialist Michael Dunne returns to the scene of a crime he didn't commit, seeking revenge after wrongly serving a year in prison.

In 2016, Dunne was given the ultrasecret assignment of penetrating Fallen Empire, a leftist WikiLeaks-like operation that may be linked to the Russians. When the FBI arrests him for running a spy operation against American journalists—really Fallen Empire operatives working under that guise—the CIA abandons him, letting him take the fall. He's also abandoned by his beautiful and pregnant wife, who doesn't take kindly to compromising photos of her husband with a young Swiss beauty, even if it was a setup. After his release from prison, Dunne returns to his hometown of Pittsburgh, where he puts together a private cyberconsulting outfit. Against everyone's advice, he jumps back into the fray to track down those who betrayed him. Ultimately, he must race against time to prevent a hacking plot from wreaking havoc on world financial systems. Dunne is not the most consistent hero. Known by his colleagues as "the iceman" for his cool under pressure, he is anything but cucumberlike after his arrest. "I did nothing wrong!" he whines, over and over. And Ignatius (The Quantum Spy, 2017, etc.), who, for an esteemed journalist, is quick to dump on reporters, substitutes a quick fade-out (perhaps with a sequel in mind) for a satisfying climax. But for the most part, the book does a nice job of sustaining its slow-boil suspense. Lifted by nifty surveillance schemes, the plot hums.

A solid, low-key spy thriller by a veteran of the form.