Join Spybrary Spy Book Podcast host Shane Whaley, author Paul Vidich and Spybrarian David Craggs as we unpack Paul Vidich's latest spy thriller 'Beirut Station: Two Lives of a Spy.' Beirut Station is a novel pulsating with emotional depth and geopolitical intrigue.
Set amidst the 2006 Hezbollah-Israeli conflict in Beirut, Lebanon, the story follows the precarious journey of a Lebanese-American protagonist entangled with the UN, CIA, and Mossad in a mission to eliminate a terrorist threat. Special guest Paul Vidich returns for a third appearance on Spybrary , offering listeners a rare glimpse into his creative process and the inspiration drawn from historical events and legendary spies like Kim Philby.
This episode brims with lively discussions on Vidich's adept portrayal of Annalise a robust female spy lead character who navigates the moral complexities of her clandestine world.
We discuss the seamless blending of fact and fiction and Paul Vidich's layered approach to character development. Beirut Station reminding us once again that heroes and villains in spy novels, much like in real life, occupy grey areas of morality.
Join us for this enthralling conversation and then connect with your fellow espionage aficionados in our online community to share your thoughts on Paul Vidich's Beirut Station.
So what is Beirut Station By Paul Vidich all about, Shane?
A stunning new espionage novel by a master of the genre, Beirut Station follows a young female CIA officer whose mission to assassinate a high-level, Hezbollah terrorist reveals a dark truth that puts her life at risk.
Lebanon, 2006.
The Israel-Hezbollah war is tearing Beirut apart: bombs are raining down, residents are scrambling to evacuate, and the country is on the brink of chaos.
In the midst of this turmoil, the CIA and Mossad are targeting a reclusive Hezbollah terrorist, Najib Qassem. Najib is believed to be planning the assassination of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is coming to Beirut in ten days to broker a cease-fire. The spy agencies are running out of time to eliminate the threat.
They turn to a young Lebanese-American CIA agent. Analise comes up with the perfect plan: she has befriended Qassem's grandson as his English tutor, and will use this friendship to locate the terrorist and take him out. As the plan is put into action, though, Analise begins to suspect that Mossad has a motive of its own: exploiting the war’s chaos to eliminate a generation of Lebanese political leaders.
She alerts the agency but their response is for her to drop it. Analise is now the target and there is no one she can trust: not the CIA, not Mossad, and not the Lebanese government. And the one person she might have to trust—a reporter for the New York Times—might not be who he says he is…
A tightly-wound international thriller, Beirut Station is Paul Vidich's best novel to date.
The Agent Runner by Simon Conway. Spy Book Review. (137)
What is SPYSCAPE's new spy tv and movie festival SPYFLIX all about? With Francis Jago.(136)
Spy Book Review = Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd (135)
Two Don Winslow Book Recommendations for Spy Book Fans - Brush Pass Spy Book Review
Favorite Spy Books of 2020 - Jason King Unleashed and Unscripted (133)
Paranoid Visions -Spies, conspiracies and the secret state in British television drama, interview with Joseph Oldham (132)
RIP John le Carré -His Secret Sharer: The Hidden Truths of John le Carré (131)
Spy Movie Review - The Internecine Project with Andy Onyx (130)
Spy Author Interview - Parallel Shadows with C P Bennison (Spybrary Tea Break.)
The Rage by Simon Conway - Spy Book review with Andy Onyx (128)
Spy Book Tea Break - The Glimmer Girl with author Andy Onyx (127)
Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming on The James Bond Book Club (126)
Spy Author Tea Break - Standpoint with Derek Thompson
Agent Sonya: Meet Moscow's Most Daring Wartime Spy with Ben Macintyre and Tim Shipman (124)
Spy Book Tea Break - with Edge of Reality author CG Faulkner 9123)
Casino Royale - The James Bond Book Club (122)
Dead Doubles: The Extraordinary Worldwide Hunt for One of the Cold War's Most Notorious Spy Rings with Trevor Barnes
The Human Factor by Graham Greene. Brush Pass Review (120)
Agent Running in the Field by John le Carre - Review (119)
Introducing The James Bond Book Club with David Craggs (118)
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Lit Society: Books and Drama
Ex Libris
Write The Book: Conversations on Craft
The Art of War
Frankenstein
Fresh Air
Myths and Legends