Need To Know - Karen Cleveland

Need To Know by Karen Cleveland

First Paragraph(s):

I stand in the doorway of the twins' room and watch them sleep, peaceful and innocent, through crib slats that remind me of bars on a prison cell.
     A night-light bathes the room in a soft orange glow.  Furniture crowds the small space, far too much of it for a room this size.  Cribs, one old, one new.  A changing table, stacks of diapers still in their plastic.  The bookcase Matt and I assembled ourselves, ages ago.  Its shelves now sag, overloaded with the books I could recite by heart to the older two, the ones I've been vowing to read more often to the twins, if only I could find the time.

My Thoughts:

Sigh.  It's very, very hard for me to know what to say about this book.  I guess, first of all, I'll say that I listened to it on audio, narrated by Mia Barron.  She did a good job, but I got so frustrated with the main character that perhaps I should have read it in print instead.  Somehow, listening to the choices and thought processes of Vivian Miller made them even more annoying to me, probably because we heard her question herself over and over and over again.  So, sigh.  Need To Know has some very big names blurbing it, even my own favorite Louise Penny.  And there is a lot of this story that is timely and relevant and it does make you consider 'what if it were me?' or 'what would I do?'.  You think about your country and the meaning of treason.  In the story, Vivian Miller, a CIA analyst, finds evidence that indicates someone very close to her is a Russian sleeper agent.  And what should she do?  Well, I know what I thought she should do.  I also know that this character had, in my opinion, too many TSTL moments to overlook.  In case you don't know, TSTL is 'too stupid to live'.  I hate that.  Oh, and if I had to hear the word 'kids' again...it was more than a bit repetitive.  Say children or little ones or something.  Sorry.  Don't mean to rant. 

I rarely finish a book that isn't working for me.  I usually stop and move on.  However, I do sometimes keep going for whatever reason.  My reason here - I thought I knew what would happen, or most of it anyway, about 5 minutes into the book.  Maybe a little longer than 5 minutes, but you get the idea.  And...I had to see if what I guessed was correct.  In the end, I was correct, and I was satisfied and liked the book a tiny bit better for that.  However, I did suffer in my own way getting to that point.  Now, you may have loved this book.  Many have.  Film rights are already sold.  The author was herself a CIA analyst.  She should know her stuff.  Bottom line - I'll be charitable and say, as this is a debut book, I'll try another by Karen Cleveland.  Maybe in print.

If you've read this book, I would dearly love to know your thoughts on it.  Really.  Perhaps this is one that I'll like better once some time passes.  That happened with The Girl On the Train, but not with Gone Girl, for me in any case.  And I guess that's all I'll say.  That wasn't too bad was it?

Blurb:

In pursuit of a Russian sleeper cell on American soil, CIA analyst Vivian Miller uncovers a dangerous secret that will threaten her job, her family—and her life. On track for a much-needed promotion, she’s developed a system for identifying Russian agents, seemingly normal people living in plain sight.

After accessing the computer of a potential Russian operative, Vivian stumbles on a secret dossier of deep-cover agents within America’s borders. A few clicks later, everything that matters to her—her job, her husband, even her four children—is threatened.‎

Vivian has vowed to defend her country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. But now she’s facing impossible choices. Torn between loyalty and betrayal, allegiance and treason, love and suspicion, who can she trust?