Reviewing The Dead Drop: A Novel
BOOK REVIEW: THE DEAD DROP
By James M. Roth/ BookBaby
Reviewed by Kenneth Dekleva
The Reviewer — Dr. Kenneth Dekleva served as a Regional Medical Officer/Psychiatrist with the U.S. Dept. of State from 2002-2016, and is currently Professor of Psychiatry and Director, Psychiatry-Medicine Integration, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX; he is also a Senior Fellow at the George H.W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations. He is the author of The Last Violinist and The Negotiator’s Cross. The views expressed are entirely his own and do not represent the views of the U.S. Government, the U.S. Dept. of State, or UT Southwestern Medical Center.
REVIEW — James Roth is a retired CIA officer, who served overseas in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. His new novel, The Dead Drop, is an exciting thriller, filled with suspense, tension, and geopolitical intrigue, with a fascinating cast of characters to boot.
In 1953, in Brooklyn, a young newspaper boy accidentally dropped a nickel – his most recent payment – and it rang hollow and split open. Inside, he found a photograph and a code along with a string of numbers, that were too small to read. The newsboy (‘Jimmy’) told a friend who alerted her father, one of NYPD’s finest. A massive, four-year counterintelligence investigation ensued, and was finally broken by the defection of a KGB Lt. Colonel, Reino Hayhanen, who lead the FBI to a legendary KGB illegal, Colonel Rudolf Ivanovitch Abel, whose story was immortalized in the 2015 Cold war movie, ‘Bridge of Spies.’
James Roth, the author of this wonderful first spy thriller, knows his Cold War history, and starts his novel with an odd premise: what would happen if some young teens in northern Virginia stumbled upon a dead drop? So, this tale begins. The young teens, enjoying their summer freedom, find an odd container near a creek, and spot a man, a very peculiar man, whom they dub ‘The Penguin,’ walking away from the site. They become curious, and retrieve the package, only to discover a letter and $10,000 in cash, wrapped in a bundle hidden in a secret compartment in an old coffee can. Quo vadis?
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The next portion of the novel leads the youngsters to a Russian neighbor, Pavel Fedorov (aka Pasha), whom they suspect might be a spy, somehow linked to ‘The Penguin.’ As they discover, he is a spy, but he is not what they think. For Pasha is Colonel Fedorov, a former KGB officer who spied for the CIA, was arrested, caught, and sentenced to death in the USSR, but mercifully swapped and exchanged for another KGB officer in custody in America. The author tells this part of the story with humor and grace, highlighting the glories and tragedies which led to Colonel Fedorov’s recruitment and betrayal of his KGB masters.
Pasha regales the young teens with his personal story of espionage, courage, and heroism, and entices them to join him in a search and adventure to discover the American traitor at the heart of tale. There follows a tale of pluck, curiosity, friendship, and youthful smarts, as four teens – best friends all – collaborate with Pavel, both recruited and trained by him, to ferret out the traitor.
Roth’s portrait of the traitor (‘Oliver Tempest’) is chilling and highly realistic. He illustrates the famous term ‘MICE’ – money, ideology, compromise, and ego – coined by the late psychiatrist Dr. Jerrold Post (who worked at CIA from 1965-1986) in his article ‘The Anatomy of Treason’ – and how it can illuminate a traitor’s psyche.
Roth’s portrait resonates with the thinking of James Lawler (a CIA officer, recruiter, and author), who said, “I never recruited a happy person.” Roth would also appreciate psychiatrist Dr. David Charney’s ‘NOIR’ paradigm, and his deep understanding of the treacherous pathways to espionage.
The novel, set in northern Virginia, could just as easily occur in Vienna, Austria, die Schattenstadt, or the city of spies. Alas, Freud’s concept of the unconscious remains alive and well in the halls and cities of betrayal.
The novel moves towards a thrilling denouement, aided by a charming, nosy neighbor, Mrs. Prattle, and the daughter (also a CIA officer) of Pasha’s late best friend. The summer finally ends, and there are other stories to tell, of friendship, basketball, and first love. The finale takes readers back to a time of innocence, youthful exuberance, and joy, where a dropped nickel, or a lost coffee can, might lead to something larger and more exciting.
Overall, James Roth has written an enjoyable and playful espionage novel, which enthralls the reader and takes one on the summer adventures of Pasha and his cadre of curious adolescents.
The Dead Drop earns a solid 3.5 out of four trench coats
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