The Powers that Be (Room 59) by Cliff Ryder. A very cool espionage thriller!

The Powers that Be by Cliff Ryder is an awesome beginning to a new suspense series, Room 59, in which a multi-national and clandestine agency meets the challenges of today's world of intelligence and action.

Room 59 is a high-tech, action-based agency of the best operatives in espionage and counterterrorism. With multi-national agents, Room 59 accepts the dangerous missions that individual governments cannot touch for reasons of politics or danger. Kate Cochran, the head of Room 59, consults with anonymous representatives from different countries but in the end, it is her job to call the missions that will put her agents at risk of their lives in an attempt to keep the world safe from the new threats in today's global world.

In The Powers That Be, the disappearance of a double agent in Cuba turns ominous as political events in Cuba heat up. Rumors of rebel forces, action in Cuba and Miami, and the secret past of an operative all combine in this fast-paced thriller to heighten the intrigue. As the mission unfolds and lives are at stake, Cliff Ryder allows the reader a glimpse into the conflicting loyalties of governments and within individuals. International politics are not quite so black and white, and undercurrents of practicality, personal history and emotion enter into each mission. Cliff Ryder is excellent in creating a truly thrilling espionage suspense read with multi-dimensional characters in the agents and also the underlying politics. In The Powers That Be, danger is truly danger and lives are on the line with no guarantee. Cliff Ryder keeps the readers guessing with exciting twists til the very end when tough choices must be made in the heat of action. Forced with an excruciating heart-stopping choice, will the agents choose mission over their own personal loyalties?

Personal details
Spy and espionage movies and novels have been my addiction for decades. This genre is my first choice in DVDs. When this book arrived, my husband and I both wanted to read it immediately. I won but this series excites us both. Although the publisher labels this book as men's adventure, this book and this series will appeal to anyone, men and women, who like heart-stopping action, intriguing characters from director head to individual agents and political intrigue.

I used to be a reading addict for the classic espionage authors of my youth but I quit reading them because the women were often mere props and mere mentions. In The Powers that Be both the women and men are multi-dimensional characters, highly trained and capable, dedicated to the mission and sometimes torn by the tough choices to be made when mission strategies come face to face with the enemy.

The Powers that Be has all the very best of the genre from the early classics and creates something entirely unique. The Powers that Be has all the intriguing high tech tools of the loved classics of Mission Impossible and James Bond but in Room 59, the danger is real and ever-present and the enemy not simplistic. Lovers of MI-5, Jean Le Carre and The Sandbaggers will relish the reflections on the nature of espionage, and the concept of who watches the watchers. While Room 59 recalls all the great traditions of espionage thrillers, this novel also adds a new dimension --- in the trenches action and a look into some of the political hot spots from both a ground-level and long-term view. I eagerly await the next Room 59 book in this series!

AKA Merri
Family Challenge Team: The Spine Breakers with my dh Glenn AKA Phaedrus