Seventh Floor

Nick Day's Review 

The Seventh Floor is a notable addition to the espionage fiction genre, offering an engaging narrative and solid storytelling. Even for those who haven’t read the first two books in the series, Damascus Station and Moscow X, this new book holds up well on its own.

David McCloskey skilfully blends contemporary geopolitical conflicts with personal motivations and betrayal. The novel taps into the ongoing tensions between Russia and the West, creating a compelling backdrop for the story. The CIA agents at the heart of the novel are well-developed: flawed individuals dealing with their personal struggles while facing adversaries from both outside and within the agency.

McCloskey’s writing style enhances the story’s tension and suspense, drawing readers into the intricate world of espionage. His use of realistic and pointed dialogue complements the strong character development. The narrative becomes particularly gripping towards the end, making it difficult to put the book down.

The Seventh Floor is a great read for those who love their espionage and crime. It is well-researched and convincing, presenting the complex, muddy, and harsh reality of operating in the multi-faceted world of covert operations.

David McCloskey’s previous background makes him an ideal person to write such a book. A former CIA analyst, he then became a consultant at McKinsey Company. While at the CIA, he worked in field stations across the Middle East and briefed senior White House officials and Arab royalty. He currently runs a fascinating pod cost called “The Rest is Classified” which can be accessed here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rest-is-classified/id1780384916

Publisher's Review 

THE THIRD NOVEL FROM FORMER CIA OFFICER AND THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF DAMASCUS STATION (THE TIMES THRILLER OF THE YEAR) AND MOSCOW X (SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR).

ALL YOUR LIFE YOU'RE CIA.
THEN YOU'RE NOT.

A Russian arrives in Singapore with a secret to sell. When the Russian is killed and Sam Joseph, the CIA officer dispatched for the meet, goes missing, Artemis Procter is made a scapegoat and run out of the service. Traded back in a spy swap, Sam appears at Procter's central Florida doorstep months later with an explosive secret: there is a Russian mole hidden deep within the upper reaches of CIA.

As Procter and Sam investigate, they arrive at a shortlist of suspects made up of both Procter's closest friends and fiercest enemies. The hunt soon requires Procter to dredge up her own checkered past in service of CIA, placing her and Sam into the sights of a savvy Russian spymaster who will protect Moscow's mole in Langley at all costs, even if it means wreaking bloody havoc across the United States.

Bouncing between the corridors of Langley and the Kremlin, the thrilling new novel by David McCloskey explores the nature of friendship in a faithless business, and what it means to love a place that does not love you back.