Review by Booklist Review
Fesperman, a former Baltimore Sun reporter who segued into novel-writing a quarter-century ago, isn't exactly known for writing comedies, but his latest thriller has a really good sense of humor. Its central character is Hal Knight, a stand-up comic turned movie star turned (disgraced) congressman, who's living a mostly hermetic life on a Caribbean island, trying to keep out of the public eye after his life blew up. Imagine his surprise when the CIA comes a-calling, telling him he's uniquely qualified for an intelligence-gathering mission to a certain Eastern European country. Turns out they're not wrong: with his past, he's pretty much the only guy who would do what the American government needs done. The big question is: Will Hal be able to keep his wits about him when everything around him is disintegrating? It should come as no surprise to Fesperman's fans that this is a first-rate spy thriller; what might come as a surprise is the relative lightness of the proceedings. Pariah is something new for the author, and it's a rousing success.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Fesperman (Winter Work) delivers a sturdy spy novel that supplements its thrills with nuanced themes of personal redemption. Hal Knight--a former comedian and film star who's recently resigned in disgrace from Congress--has fled to a Caribbean island to escape the fallout from a viral video of his drunken, misogynistic tirade on a movie set. Now a social and professional outcast, Hal has at least one remaining fan: Nikolai Horvatz, despotic president of the east European nation of Bolrovia, who learned English from Hal's frat guy comedies and extends an invitation for him to perform in Bolrovia. CIA agent Lauren Witt seizes the opportunity to recruit Hal as a spy of convenience. Once in Europe, Hal must learn tradecraft on the fly, avoid insulting his thin-skinned host, and keep a menacing counterintelligence official from discovering his true mission. When Hal's brash, amateurish methods scare the CIA into disavowing the operation, Lauren takes her ops team off the books to extricate her recruit. Fesperman is dexterous with plotting and character development, but less convincing when it comes to illustrating Hal's comedic talents (unless readers really love song parodies). Still, it's a minor quibble in an otherwise impressive effort. (July)
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Review by Library Journal Review
After being humiliated in a highly publicized moment, comedian and movie star turned controversial congressman Hal C. Knight resigns from Congress, quits social media, and retreats to a remote beach on the Caribbean island of Vieques to wait out the furor. There he is approached by CIA agents seeking to recruit Hal to spy on one of his biggest fans, who happens to be the authoritarian president of a fictionalized Eastern European country called Bolrovia. Wanting to do something to redeem himself and with nothing left to lose, Hal agrees. While in Bolrovia he entertains the president and his guests, uncovers a major Russian data center, and accidentally outsmarts the Bolrovian head of security. Will Hal return home to a hero's welcome? As the novel's bumbling and impulsive hero, Hal is human in every way, with improv training that often works in his favor and rashness that might carry him to the brink of disaster. VERDICT Fesperman (Winter Work) creates an intriguing, entertaining and fast-paced plot, possibly mirroring events in the real world. Thoroughly satisfying.--Joanna M. Burkhardt
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
#MeToo-banished Hollywood comic Hal Knight is roped by the CIA into spying on Eastern European oligarch Nikolai Horvatz--known to be a big fan of his films. Knight, who has been hiding out on a Caribbean island, is asked by the agency to simply observe everything about (fictitious) Bolrovia's "crypto-fascist strongman," who is certain to invite the one-time star for an official visit. Given the chance to redeem himself or at least perform before a friendly audience, Knight agrees. But it isn't long before his missteps start raising the hackles of Bolrovian security forces, led by the dour Branko Sarič, "the goon of all goons." And when his big moment does arrive, Knight sends shock waves through the room and the media by appearing to make Horvatz the butt of a joke. With the violent cracking down on immigrants who have crossed Bolrovia's southern border, not to mention the curious arrival of American media types including right-wing TV pundit Baxter Frederickson (read: Tucker Carlson), it is not a good time to be risking the president's ire. A departure for Fesperman, who is known for his tense, finely wrought spy novels--most recentlyWinter Work (2022)--the new book does as well with a shaky concept as it could. But it's never made clear what the CIA, which "had gone dark" in Bolrovia when Horvatz began cozying up to Russia and China, hopes to learn from Knight's efforts. There's also scant evidence that Knight is (or was) capable of being funny. His one-time popularity is as mysterious as the wisdom he supposedly derives from the marked-up copy of Philip Roth'sAmerican Pastoral he carries around. A rare misfire by one of spy fiction's most consistent artists. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
