⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (4.5 stars)
The Handler is a sharp, high-octane spy thriller with a killer hook: a disgraced former CIA operative forced back into the field—with his ex-wife as his handler. That alone is enough to grab your attention, but Woodward delivers far more than a clever premise.
Meredith Morris-Dale is a talented CIA case officer whose career hangs by a thread after a mission goes sideways. Instead of being shown the door, she’s handed an impossible assignment. A long-embedded CIA mole inside Iran’s uranium enrichment program wants out, and the only person he’ll trust is Meredith’s ex-husband, John Dale. Fired, sidelined, and bitter, John is the last person she wants to rely on—but the stakes couldn’t be higher.
What follows is heart-pounding action layered with tradecraft that feels real, not flashy. Woodward’s background as a former Navy intelligence officer shows in the operational details and the messy politics inside the CIA. The marriage baggage adds emotional tension without bogging down the plot, and the action scenes crackle, especially once John shakes off the rust.
The book does bounce through several points of view, which slows things a bit, but John Dale is the clear standout. He’s flawed, capable, and hard to look away from. This is a smart, muscular debut—and I’d happily read the encore.
Thanks to NetGalley and Berkeley for the advance copy. Opinions are my own.