Charles McCarry

Jul 12, 2024 | vnexplorer.net | Charles McCarry

The 1995 political thriller that now feels prescient Today, it’s more than a little eerie to read Charles McCarry’s gripping and intricate 1995 political thriller, “Shelley’s Heart.” At the time the book first appeared, nearly 30 years ago, it was hailed by The Washington Post’s Jonathan Yardley as the best novel about Washington politics ever written, a view shared by Richard Condon, author of “The Manchurian Candidate.” Read today, it will leave you wondering: Was McCarry unnervingly...

Jun 19, 2023 | shepherd.com | James Stejskal |Charles McCarry |Michael Frost Beckner |Joseph Kanon

I love McCarry’s books because not only are they true to the genre, they arehistorically accurate (and often quite humorous). Moreover, his spy “tradecraft” works because he was a deep-cover CIA officer—the ones who get shot if they’re caught. His characters are realistic, not supermen—they have feelings, fears, and families—and they struggle against enormous odds.