M.P. Woodward follows his debut in the Handler series with Dead Drop. Woodward is also now heading up the Jack Ryan Jr. series with Shadow State. Woodward comes with a background in naval intelligence, and has two other books announced in the Jack Ryan Jr. series, Line of Demarcation, and Terminal Velocity.

International nuclear espionage turns allies into enemies in this electrifying thriller.

Nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran have reached a crisis point. The new American administration is determined to move ahead, but there are several stumbling blocks, not the least of which is Lieutenant Colonel Kasem Khalidi, the former Iranian Quds Force intelligence officer the CIA has hidden away in one of its safe houses. 

As always, John and Meredith Dale are caught in the middle. Mossad—the Israeli intelligence agency—wants Meredith’s help to find a suspected cache of Quds tactical nukes, while John is in a desperate race to keep Kasem one step ahead of an Iranian hit squad. 

They are pawns in an international chess game, and any player knows you cannot capture the king without sacrificing some pawns.

The story opened with a thrilling snatch operation by Israel’s Shayetet 13. An op that doesn’t go to plan. It set the pace for the rest of the book and told me I was in for a thrilling ride. I wasn’t disappointed.

This book picked up almost exactly where The Handler left off. I read them back to back. It was a smooth and consistent transition, although could be read as a standalone.

The friction filled dynamic between Meredith and John was still there. I couldn’t believe Rance was still there, not after his screw up in the last book. Meredith and John have an asset now, although “asset” may not be the right word as getting anything out of him seems to be a challenge as he gets more and more demanding.

I really enjoyed the tension that comes from Meredith and John, couple that with them not being able to trust their own allies not to run ops against them. And John truly faces a sticky situation that no man or spy would envy – stuck between the ex-wife turned handler, and Mossad. Not to mention an Iranian asset who ends up in the wind.

Woodward brought another thrilling ending in this book. There was a poetic symmetry to the end of this one and the previous book. Extraction becomes insertion. And John Dale becomes rescuer.

I have absolutely loved the dysfunctional dynamic between John and Meredith. Hoping for another book in the series. Expecting a prime part for Grace too.