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MWSA Review
James Witt is a skilled sniper recruited by the CIA for a new program that takes him out of the army and into classified jobs in Vietnam and Europe during the Cold War. Witt's story unfolds through his training, deployments, and multiple assassinations around the globe. The narrative is held together by Witt's bonds with two fellow snipers and his government handler. But while the scenery and setting change from one killing to the next, there is an overall sameness to his experiences by the time the story ends.
The creative look at the CIA sniper program keeps readers attention as the plot takes many twists and turns. While the story feels real, the author states that “Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.”
The author created a compelling story by paralleling CIA special operations and the human toll of loneliness for an insider look at special ops from years ago. More rigorous editing would have improved readability.
Review by Betsy Beard (May 2021)
Author's Synopsis
The First Recruit is an emotionally charged Cold War thriller where danger lurks around every corner and assassinations are effected with compelling intensity and swiftness. Sergeant James Witt, whose skill as a sniper makes him the first recruit in the CIAs newest covert program, slips unseen behind the Iron Curtain dozens of times into an opaque world of brutal conflicts and espionage. This is an unforgettable journey of faithfulness, courage, and aching loss amidst hope, resilience, and a reaffirmation of the human spirit.
This brilliantly written fictional narrative is a sobering reveal of how a top-secret CIA project careened out of control into a catastrophe that remains classified even today.
ISBN/ASIN: 9781393218777, 9781393817604
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle, ePub/iBook
Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 258