Need to Know: A Novel

An Amazon Best Book of January 2018: The last thing that CIA analyst Vivian Miller expects to see when she finally accesses the files of a suspected Russian sleeper cell is the face of someone close to her. Someone she thought she could trust with her four children. Someone whose exposure as a Russian spy will destroy her hard-fought career. Miller panics and deletes the file. She knows she's only delayed the inevitable exposure...unless she can use her skills to extract herself and her family. Debut author Karen Cleveland capitalizes on her own experiences as a CIA analyst, shedding light on the gritty and unromantic day-to-day realities of intelligence work even as she tightens the screws on Miller. Russian threats, a CIA internal investigation sniffing closer, and the constant fear that those whom she trusts are not worthy of her faith hamstring Miller's ability to get loose of the situation, while her family is put squarely in the crosshairs. Cleveland brings an invigorating, authoritative twist to the usual CIA thriller, putting you on edge while you flip pages like crazy to find out what happens next. —Adrian Liang, Amazon Book Review

Karen Cleveland is a former CIA analyst. She has master’s degrees from Trinity College Dublin (international peace studies) and Harvard University (public policy). Cleveland lives in northern Virginia with her husband and two young sons. This is her first novel.