After I finished reading this I thought I was qualified to recruit and run sources for the CIA. That’s how authentic David McCloskey’s writing is. DAMASCUS STATION is so detailed that at times it seems like you’re reading a how-to guide for conducting clandestine operations. Except field manuals are as boring and dry as staring at sawdust, and this book is anything but that.

McCloskey’s tale is full of high stakes intrigue that keeps you riveted page after page, with anxiety inducing twists and turns guaranteed to jack up your heart rate while you guess what will happen next. The intricate weaving of the story’s espionage, amplified by the conflicts, desires, and ambitions of fully-formed and well-rounded characters is a game of chess played at the highest level of reality, with no less than countless lives hanging in the balance. I thoroughly enjoyed the maneuvering between the adversaries as each delved further into their arsenal of tradecraft in order to outsmart and gain supremacy over the other.

If you are a fan of spy novels, then DAMASCUS STATION is an absolute must.