The Cutout (Caroline Carmichael Book 1)

US Vice President Sophie Payne is on an official visit to the Federal Republic of Germany. As she begins a controversial speech to crowds gathered near the US Embassy in Berlin, a terrorist attack is launched. A bomb goes off in front of the Brandenburg Gate, killing and wounding many, including Ms. Payne's bodyguard. In the midst of the ensuing chaos, a helicopter lands, terrorists grab the vice president and make an effortless get-away. Later, as the CIA director and her associates review the videotape of the kidnapping, they recognize the face of the pilot and are stunned into silence. And these folks, who have seen and heard just about everything, are not easily shocked.Caroline Carmichael is a CIA intelligence analyst specializing in European terrorist groups. Her husband, Eric, former CIA operative and European station chief, had been killed two years before when the plane he was on exploded over the Aegean Sea. Since then, all Caroline's work for the Counterterrorism Center, (CTC), has focused on one disciplined, deadly group of Eastern European killers, the "30 April Organization." Their agenda is to cleanse Europe of all non-Aryans and their MO is terror. Croatian Mlan Krucevic, is the organization's leader. He is a trained geneticist who uses biological agents in human experiments. A fanatic, like his father before him, he is a former director of prison camps in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and responsible for the murder and torture of thousands of Muslims and Serbs. His file reads like sadistic horror fiction. It was Krucevic who had a bomb placed on MedAir 901, Eric Carmichael's fatal flight. The 30 April Organization, under Krucevic's command, is also responsible for kidnapping Sophie Payne.Caroline's expertise on everything pertaining to 30 April, its history, methods, motives and the psychology of its members, leads to her active involvement in the plan to rescue the Vice President. However, as the complex plot unwinds, and Central European governments begin to crumble, the reader discovers that much more than the life of a high ranking US official is at stake."The Cutout" is an outstanding novel of espionage and international politics - chillingly realistic, especially given Francine Mathews' personal knowledge of her subject. She is a former CIA analyst. Her descriptions of the intelligence community are fascinating and credible, as is her tour through the killing fields of Bosnia, and the glimpses she provides of the savage results of religious and ethnic hatreds which have existed in this region for centuries."Cutout" is an Intelligence term for a go-between, a pawn. I found "The Cutout" to be more than just an intelligent action thriller and a riveting read. Ms. Mathews' presents a fascinating political scenario, where a German chancellor is assassinated. His replacement is a representative from Germany's Social Conservative Party, with a hidden agenda to annex Central Europe, and the means to do it. This overriding plot is gripping, as is the kidnapping of the US Vice President. The author masterfully juggles and merges various storylines. Her characters are strong and well developed. "The Cutout" also brings into play a moral topic which has been discussed widely, especially since 9/11. It's that old Machiavellian, "Does the end justify the means?" How far should our Intelligence operatives go, whether in dealing with evil, (working with people like Saddam Hussein, or former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega), or in perpetrating it themselves, (i.e., as inside agents, performing terrorists acts themselves, so as not to blow their cover), in order to wipe-out the larger evil? "The Cutout" makes for a compelling read and I highly recommend it. I just ordered the sequel, "Blown."JANA

With The Cutout, Ms. Mathews has written an enthralling, captivating, and intelligent spy thriller. There are minor distractions in the book, such as perhaps too much introspectional dialogue from the main female character, but that only harms the novel if you, the reader, lets it. Speaking for myself, this book started slow, but picked up pace rapidly after the character developement was established and was a real thrill ride to the end. The author's experience as a CIA operative paints a brilliant background as you travel to foreign countries in this book. Our culture is turning away from individual achievement and intelligence, but if you still value these things, give this one a try. Her sequel to this one, Blown, is coming out in ppbk in June. I look forward to investing the time to read it as well.

Cutout is a top-notch political suspense / thriller. The settings, the characters, the action and the plot twists were expertly detailed and laid out for the reader to travel. I can say this without reservation: I've paid 10 times more for one-tenth the story. Absolutely worth reading and can't wait for the next.

Excellent

And I loved the characters. And felt the Pace thought. I felt the last quarter of the book dragged a bit. But could have been me

I love this author. I started reading her under her pen name, Stephanie Barron. I ate up EVERY one of her historical novels written in the guise of Jane Austen. Really good reading. I had to find something else by her and learned in her online biography that she was once employed by the CIA. It is obvious she knows what she writing about in this action drama that involves a CIA desk employee who gets planted in a terrorist plot to save a kidnapped vice president. It seems like it could come out of the current news. I read almost non-stop for the whole holiday break (I'm a teacher) on my new kindle! Good read.

Good read. The author held my interest all the way through story with plenty of suspense.

Got a little complex but still kept me interested to the end.