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Book Summary and Reviews of The Mulberry Bush by Charles McCarry

The Mulberry Bush by Charles McCarry

The Mulberry Bush

by Charles McCarry

  • Critics' Consensus (0):
  • Readers' Rating (2):
  • Published:
  • Nov 2015, 320 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Author of The Tears of Autumn and The Shanghai Factor, Charles McCarry is widely regarded as one of the finest modern espionage novelists. His latest masterpiece, The Mulberry Bush, burns with the fury of the wronged, as personal vendetta and political idealism collide.

In a rose garden in Buenos Aires, an unnamed American spy meets the beautiful daughter of a famous Argentinean revolutionary. He becomes infatuated, and so does she. But he is no ordinary spy - he is an off-the-books lone wolf who spent his first five years working for "Headquarters" hunting terrorists in the Middle East. Unbeknownst to his lenient handlers, he is loyal to a hidden agenda: to avenge his father, who was laughed out of Headquarters many years before. In the sultry young Argentinean, the spy thinks he has found an ally. Like his father, her parents also met a terrible fate. But as his path becomes further entwined with hers, the spy finds himself caught in a perilous web of passions, affiliations, and lies that spans three continents and stretches back to the Cold War.

A potent and seductive novel, The Mulberry Bush explores what happens when the most powerful political motivator is revenge.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

BookBrowse Review
"Unfortunately The Mulberry Bush failed to move me. It started strong and I thought I would enjoy it, but from the middle all the way to the end (which is more exciting but not redeeming) it was all rather anodyne." - Donna Chavez

Other Reviews
"Starred Review. [An] exceptional spy novel ... McCarry spins his riveting story in unexpected ways; the writing is always subdued but brilliant, leading unsuspecting readers to collide straight into the unforgiving wall of a stunning ending." - Publishers Weekly

"Just as Hamlet ends with an intricately choreographed scene of violent death, this novel concludes in a crescendo of lethal treachery, but not before McCarry, who has mined the rich vein of spycraft for decades, dazzles us with smart dialog, fascinating characters, and local exotica of wonderful variety and authenticity." - Library Journal

"Classic noir themes of trust, motive, and tarnished ideals spin through this mordant, cerebral thriller about an agent on a two-tiered mission. Veteran thriller author and former CIA op McCarry opens this latest with a cracking good setup." - Kirkus

This information about The Mulberry Bush was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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FictionZeal

The Mulberry Bush by Charles McCarry
Our unnamed protagonist is on a dual mission. He’s an American spy for HQ (Headquarters) which is code for the CIA. On the one hand, he’s very good at his job. On the other, he’s willing to patiently wait years to exact revenge for his father who had been humiliated, railroaded out of the HQ, out of his benefits, and into homelessness years earlier. He finds an unlikely ally in the form of Luz Aguilar, daughter of an Argentinean revolutionary from Buenos Aires, who also holds a grudge against the HQ.

Charles McCarry was a former CIA operative and so he has an in-depth knowledge of the process. He has been feeding credible spy novels to his fans since the 1970s. The protagonist’s relationship with Luz is described as love but seems to be much more about the sexual atmosphere between them. Fortunately, the novel is more about the story line and the narrator’s revenge than about their sexual exploits. The protagonist lacks a name while the remaining characters lack a bit of development, especially within the midsection of the novel. The action is adequate carrying over into a very satisfying ending for the reader. Rating: 3 out of 5.

Skydiver

Run, Do Not Stop
All I can say is the book was well proofread.

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Author Information

Charles McCarry

Charles McCarry worked under deep cover as a CIA operations officer in Europe, Asia, and Africa. He is the author of thirteen critically acclaimed novels, including The Shanghai Factor and the classic spy thriller The Tears of Autumn, as well as numerous works of nonfiction.

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