“Cry Spy” eBook was published in 2016 (original paper edition was published in 1990) and was written by William Hood. Mr. Hood published five books, all in the espionage/spy genre.

I categorize this novel as ‘PG’ because it contains some scenes of Violence. The story is set duing the height of the cold war. The main character is retired American spy Alan Trosper.

The death of Trosper’s friend, Peter Gandy, starts Trosper on the path of finding out who killed him and why. Gandy was a retired spy who was poisoned using methods attributed to Russia.

Trosper follows one clue after another until he finally finds a connection to who he thinks was behind the assassination. This is a story of tactics and well thought out strategies, no high tech toys. This is a story of people and takes a more realistic look at the world of espionage and counter intelligence that is usually seen.

I enjoyed the 8 hours I spent reading this 303 page Mystery/Spy Thriller. It is more of an ‘old-school’ spy tale. It doesn’t have a lot of excitement, but it is a very engaging novel. I thought that the plot was well thought out and did not have many predictable twists. While it was written over 25 years ago, it still reads well. The cover art is OK. I give this novel a 4.2 (rounded down to a 4) out of 5.

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I simply forgot that I need to read such good, well detailed spy stories in 2 or 3 sittings. I failed to do so and spent some time revisiting the scenarios and the various (shadowy) figures. Alan Trosper is a lovely character, but I would have liked to learn a little bit about his past, both personal and work. I could not give it 5 stars which may be because I was unable to really sit down and get truly involved? Well worth finishing it, though.