The Expats by Chris Pavone

The Expats is a new thriller by time author Chris Pavone.  It was a quick, fun and enjoyable book. I'd quite happily pick up his next novel.  Pavone was a cookbook editor before he wrote this novel.

The Moores relocate to Luxembourg because Dexter has a new job with a bank there.  Kate leaves her public policy job in Washington D.C. and becomes a full time mother.  Unbeknownst to her husband, she in fact gave up for job with the CIA as a field operative.  The Moores are befriended by other American expats in Luxembourg.  Kate's training kicks in and she immediately suspects that the new friends are not who they say they are.  She begins to follow her intuition and uncovers layers and layers of deception.

What makes this novel a little different from the typical spy thriller is that it does not focus on any large international issues.  Rather, it is a highly personal and close up look into the mind of a spy.  Pavone does an great job of giving Kate voice and slowly revealing the facts.  There are several well executed "gotcha" moments.  Overall, it was a well executed and fun read.  The writing is crisp and easily approachable.

The interview video below was taped at The Mysterious Bookshop (my favorite bookshop in NYC).  If you jump to 3:51 and 5:19 in the video, you'll see me wandering around the bookstore.