American Spy is a dazzling espionage thriller by television writer and first-time novelist  Lauren Wilkinson. This book has the power and velocity of a bullet — it is a tight, suspenseful, sexual, intelligent, and skillfully written spy story, which also happens to embrace enduring themes of race, gender, and politics. And it’s extraordinary.

American Spy tells the story of Marie Mitchell, a young Black FBI agent who is assigned to a high-level mission in West Africa during the height of the Cold War. It is a brilliant story about divided loyalties, moral ambiguity, the dangers of imperial power, and what it means to be a good American, and it captures the imagination and intellect in a way that transcends genre. Lauren manages to convey both the visceral and existential terror imprinted on young people during the Cold War in the 1980s, and very recognizable issues of power, race, and gender that feel very modern. I didn’t want this book to end, but luckily for us, we will get to read more from this talented young writer in years to come!

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