(Edmonds, WA) – Former Central Intelligence Agency officer Vaughn Sherman says his novel, Sasha Plotkin’s Deceit, is based on “things that really happened, or could have happened” during his 20 years in America’s secret service. There is enough truth that “I had to submit the book to the CIA Publications Review Board before going to print,” says the Edmonds resident.
“After I retired from the CIA, I discovered spy-novels and found that few authors understand that Cold War espionage involved more mind-games than shoot-’em-outs and car chases. The stories don’t capture the personal challenges intelligence officers face living and working aboard with secrets to be kept and lives at stake. Often the biggest challenge is family life – lies that have to be told to loved ones, unexplained absences, worries about their safety and even spouses jealous about time spent in intimate situations with colleagues and agents of the opposite sex.
“I try to capture those elements while telling a spy story woven from an oddity of Swedish history that I encountered while assigned to Stockholm.”
Set in Sweden in the late 60s and early 70s, Sasha Plotkin’s Deceit details the Soviet Union’s success planting a mole in the CIA’s top echelons. CIA officer Chris Holbeck takes part in a mission to engineer the defection of a Soviet KGB officer who may know the mole’s identity. The hoped-for defector is Sasha Plotkin, but the day he is to turn himself over to Chris – he is a no-show. Three years later, Sasha resurfaces and claims he wishes to make a second attempt at defection.
“Smart, gripping and captivating. Vaughn Sherman writes with a depth and authenticity that remind me of John le Carré. I was lured into the story from the first page. Fantastic!”
—Carla Neggers, New York Times bestselling author of Saint’s Gate
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vaughn Sherman’s career as a Pacific Northwest fisheries biologist was cut short when he was recruited by the CIA. After his service, Vaughn pursued numerous civic activities, most involving the governance of non-profit agencies and community colleges. In addition to Sasha’s Plotkin’s Deceit, he has published three books dealing with the management of non-profits, including Walking the Board Walk.
Web page: http://camelpress.com/2012/08/01/sasha-plotkins-deceit-by-vaughn-sherman-spy-versus-spy-in-stockholm
