THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW – August 13, 2023: The annual thrillers issue features – a tense murder mystery set aboard a cruise ship; a heist novel involving rough diamonds, crooked lawyers and masters of the double cross; and an especially creepy serial-killer novel, to name just a few.
Being Underestimated Was Her Secret Weapon
In “Flirting With Danger,” Janet Wallach tells the story of Marguerite Harrison, who traded a life of privilege to become America’s first international female spy.
By Chloe Malle
FLIRTING WITH DANGER: The Mysterious Life of Marguerite Harrison, Socialite Spy, by Janet Wallach
Anyone complaining about a canceled Delta flight would do well to channel Marguerite Harrison. The United States’ first international female spy, Harrison crisscrossed the globe by rickshaw, propeller plane, camel, inflated goatskin raft and rail freight car and once brightly described a trans-Siberian voyage, in which she was wedged between sacks of tea and oats on the back of a troika in a blizzard, as “a rare and delightful experience.”
Chasing a World Record, They Endured Storms, Sharks and Freak Waves
In “Completely Mad,” James Hansen tells the stories of two men who in 1969 vied to be the first to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
COMPLETELY MAD: Tom McClean, John Fairfax, and the Epic Race to Row Solo Across the Atlantic, by James R. Hansen
The day before the Apollo mission landed two men on the moon, a British man named John Fairfax waded into Hollywood Beach, Fla., greeted by masses of cheering fans, having been the first person to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Eight days later, another Briton, Tom McClean, pulled his dory up a deserted beach in Blacksod Bay, Ireland, having rowed solo across the Atlantic in the opposite direction. While Fairfax was acclaimed and feted, McClean walked to the closest pub, alone.
Humphrey Hawksley is an author, commentator and broadcasters. His work as a BBC foreign correspondent took him all over the world, giving him a global perspective that informs his writing. 
Screenwriter-cum-author Alex Michaelides’ influences range from Agatha Christie to Euripides. His most recent book, ‘The Silent Patient’, has garnered much acclaim: the thriller is being made into a film having gripped audiences worldwide and topped The New York Times bestseller list.
“Agent Running in the Field” is narrated by Nat, a 47-year-old spy for British intelligence—known not as “the Circus” of yore but, more prosaically, as “the Office”.
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