Why am I passionate about this?

Writing narrative nonfiction books is, for me, quite an adventure. My quest is to discover remarkable stories of deep significance and find answers to long-lingering questions, such as why a spy was never caught. For my six books, I have travelled worldwide to interview key players, dig through archives, and see first-hand the stories’ settings. With master’s degrees in journalism (Columbia University) and library science (University of Michigan), I use the research skills of both professions. Designing the best story structure is my passion because that’s the bridge writers must construct to artfully deliver true stories to readers. And I am inspired by reading excellent books.


I wrote

Book cover of Sleeper Agent: The Atomic Spy in America Who Got Away

What is my book about?

This is the true story of a Soviet military-trained intelligence officer who, undercover as a U.S. Army corporal, had full…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Eye of the Needle

Ann Hagedorn Why did I love this book?

I have read this novel twice and will undoubtedly read it again. It’s captivating because of the suspenseful plot and the perfect story structure, which is my favorite part of writing books.

The reality of the WWII challenges that the main players must face is gripping. It’s a reminder of how courage springs forth when fear is so overwhelming that there is no other choice but to be brave and do things you never believed you could do.

That is true for the Nazi spy who usually killed anyone who got in his way and for the woman who risked her life to, indeed, get in his way. Why he became a spy and why she tried to stop him are superbly revealed.

By Ken Follett,

Why should I read it?

10 authors picked Eye of the Needle as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The worldwide phenomenon from the bestselling author of The Pillars of the Earth, World Without End, A Column of Fire, and The Evening and the Morning

His code name was "The Needle." He was a German aristocrat of extraordinary intelligence-a master spy with a legacy of violence in his blood, and the object of the most desperate manhunt in history. . . .

But his fate lay in the hands of a young and vulnerable English woman, whose loyalty, if swayed, would assure his freedom-and win the war for the Nazis. . . .


Book cover of The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War

Ann Hagedorn Why did I love this book?

I read this unforgettable, true story, cover to cover while sitting for hours in the Denver airport waiting for a long-delayed flight to Seattle.

Thanks to Ben Macintyre’s brilliance, my day of stress became a meaningful and hugely informative adventure into the double life of Oleg Gordievsky. How this man, like his father and brother, joined the KGB; why certain realities and events during his KGB assignments changed him; what motivated his decision to become a double agent for British intelligence; and how he survived it all filled this saga with astute lessons about espionage.

There’s a simple yet profound line that stuck with me about the double life, something like: You love those around you while you conceal your true inner self.

By Ben Macintyre,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked The Spy and the Traitor as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The celebrated author of Double Cross and Rogue Heroes returns with a thrilling Americans-era tale of Oleg Gordievsky, the Russian whose secret work helped hasten the end of the Cold War.

“The best true spy story I have ever read.”—JOHN LE CARRÉ

Named a Best Book of the Year by The Economist • Shortlisted for the Bailie Giffords Prize in Nonfiction

If anyone could be considered a Russian counterpart to the infamous British double-agent Kim Philby, it was Oleg Gordievsky. The son of two KGB agents and the product of the best Soviet institutions, the…


Book cover of Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan

Ann Hagedorn Why did I love this book?

Knowing about Noor Inayat Khan’s life is crucial to understanding why people become spies; her story is utterly startling.

I learned about Noor (codename Madeleine) while doing research in London for my fifth book. One of the people I interviewed was well-informed about the women who were trained as spies in WWII for Winston Churchill’s Special Operations Executive (SOE).

During that trip, someone left a copy of her biography, Spy Princess (a 2006 British publication), for me at the hotel front desk; to this day, I don’t know who. I read it on the flight back to the U.S. and was immensely moved by Noor’s motivations and her shocking bravery, especially after she faced the Gestapo and was sent to a concentration camp. 

By Shrabani Basu,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Spy Princess as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

AN INDIAN PRINCESS, WHO IS IN THE LINEAGE OF TIPU SULTAN, PARTICIPATES IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR, SHE SPIES FOR THE BRITISH. THIS BRAVE AND FIERCE TIGRESS GETS CAUGHT BY THE GERMANS, AS A RESULT OF TREACHERY. HER FUTURE IS CLEAR; SHE SUFFERS IMMENSE PAINS AT THE HANDS OF GERMANS. TREACHERY, TORTURE AND TERRIBLE TORMENT.. ONE DAY, A BULLET REVEALS HER FROM ALL THIS TORTURE. SHE WAS THE ONE WHO KEPT THE FLAME OF BRAVERY ENLIGHTENED.


Book cover of The Spy Who Changed History: The Untold Story of How the Soviet Union Won the Race for America's Top Secrets

Ann Hagedorn Why did I love this book?

What an eye-opener! I read this book one winter weekend in 2019 while researching early Soviet espionage in America to learn about the plan that Stalin and Soviet spy Stanislav Shumovsky set into motion in the U.S. in the 1930s. It reveals how trained Soviet spies were planted as students at American universities that ranked high in science education–starting with MIT.

As a model, Shumovsky earned a bachelor’s degree at MIT, joined professional societies to mingle with respected scientists, and focused his master’s degree on “high altitude flying,” sending mounds of information back to the USSR. However, it was not only what he sent home that made Shumovsky so important; it was what he set up for future spies who enrolled at MIT as well as Harvard and Columbia.  

Book cover of The Tailor of Panama

Ann Hagedorn Why did I love this book?

I have read several John Le Carre novels, but I chose this one because of its ingenious depiction of the psychological traps of spydom.

It’s a satire, and as it moves through a mire of lies and deceit, it digs deeply into the twists and turns of the life of a tailor seemingly forced by bribery and blackmail to be a spy. His only freedom is to release his creativity into a vast new domain of endless deceit, in which, among other things, he drenches his handler with lies.

The story is brimming with surprises, including the fact that there’s no violence, which is one of the reasons I liked it so much. I read this one twice, years ago, and both times, I could barely take a break.

By John le Carré,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Tailor of Panama as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'A work of rare brilliance' The Times

Charmer, fabulist and tailor to Panama's rich and powerful, Harry Pendel loves to tell stories. But when the British spy Andrew Osnard - a man of large appetites, for women, information and above all money - walks into his shop, Harry's fantastical inventions take on a life of their own. Soon he finds himself out of his depth in an international game he can never hope to win.

Le Carre's savage satire on the espionage trade is set in a corrupt universe without heroes or honour, where the innocent are collateral damage and…


Explore my book 😀

Book cover of Sleeper Agent: The Atomic Spy in America Who Got Away

What is my book about?

This is the true story of a Soviet military-trained intelligence officer who, undercover as a U.S. Army corporal, had full security clearance at two Manhattan Project sites where the fuels for America’s first atomic bombs were produced. Born and raised in Iowa, George Koval worked at a cover shop in Manhattan and lived in the Bronx before joining the U.S. Army. 

Known for charming everyone he met, he played bridge, loved baseball, could reel off the stats of every big-league pitcher, enrolled in a chemistry course at Columbia to meet top scientists, and was quite the ladies’ man. With his tapestry of lies and half-truths, Koval blended into American culture while sending information to Moscow to speed up the creation of a Soviet atomic bomb. 

Book cover of Eye of the Needle
Book cover of The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War
Book cover of Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan

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