Book Review: The Poison Factory

Confession: I used to want to be a spy. Part of me still does. The idea of being a spy seems so fun and adventurous and thrilling. I blame shows like Alias for my desire to be a spy. So when I was sent The Poison Factory a spy story by real-life former CIA agent Lucy Kirk, I was excited to read it.

The Poison Factory follows Decktora Raines, Decky, a CIA agent on a leave of absence after her longtime boyfriend and fellow CIA agent has gone missing possibly somewhere in Syria. While on leave and deciding whether to make her leave a permanent retirement, she receives a letter from a former asset, Sergei, a Russian defector living in London. He thinks someone from his past has found him and has reason to believe that another defector he knows in London has been murdered.

Decky quickly arranges to fly to London and briefs the CIA office in London as well as the MI5 counterparts in British intelligence. Someone is indeed targeting Sergei and other defectors. A trail of bodies left with mysterious claw marks and poisoned follows Decky, Sergei, and co as they try to figure out why these defectors in particular are being targeted and who is behind it.

I really enjoyed the book and thought it was well done. It kept me interested from start to finish. Despite things Decky would do that would normally have me rolling my eyes in other books, I found believable and surprisingly not annoying. I thought the whole storyline and actions the characters took were believable. Maybe it’s due to Kirk’s real life background in intelligence.

I hope Kirk continues on and turns this into a series following Decktora on another CIA mission. I’d definitely read it!