Paul Vidich's THE COLDEST WARRIOR is one of those truly rare HOLY CRAP! kinda books. I finished reading the book this morning and I'm trying to sort it all out, but yeah, that HOLY CRAP! thing is on a loop in my head.

What's it all about? Well, if you've ever pondered the question, Does the CIA kill people?, here's your answer. They do. And that's not a spoiler, because I'm not really giving anything away. It is 1975, and Vidich gives us the gripping story of Jack Gabriel, a career CIA officer, who, after a recent tour in Vietnam, is ready to retire, has in fact already turned in his resignation, when the Director (DCI) asks him to stay on for a couple months, and gives him a special assignment, to look into the mysterious death, twenty-two years earlier, of Dr. Charles Wilson, a biochemical warfare scientist. Gabriel, who'd been a friend of Wilson, reluctantly takes on the cold-case, and from there the nasty underbelly of CIA workings slowly reveals itself in a series of meetings in and around Washington, D.C. Gabriel's investigation takes him from the rural environs of Frederick, Maryland, and Fort Detrick to familiar Washington landmarks, and all the way up to the oval office and a confidential chat on the South Lawn with the President (who, like the DCI, is never explicitly named, but you can look 'em up).

Oddly, this novel of deceit, coverups, intrigue and murder moves forward in a deliberate, quiet manner - until suddenly clues and characters begin to merge together and you are pulled at nearly breakneck speed toward a horrifying and deadly climax deep under the city as the destructive power of Hurricane Eloise rages above.

Vidich obviously knows Washington, with its periodic purges, coverups and nastiness, as evidenced in these comments from one of the principals, another longtime CIA man -

"We think of ourselves as idealistic, which of course we are, except when we aren't, something that happens from time to time. And when it happens, we are consumed by chest-beating hypocrisy … We are a nation that sets a high ethical standard, but we lapse into cycles of disclosure, umbrage, outrage, and mea culpa, followed by recidivist behavior that brings on another cycle of outrage and mea culpa."

Or, perhaps even more relevant to today's political scene, when another CIA officer tells Gabriel -

"Our recent presidents won't be honored with a big marble monument … We get the presidents we deserve. Narcissistic blowhards, smug liars, whiny bastards."

Yes, THE COLDEST WARRIOR may be set in the fifties and seventies, but Vidich makes a pretty credible case that things in Washington haven't really changed all that much since then.

I was of course reminded of the spy novels of John Le Carre, but even more of the Washington novels of the late Ward Just, who probably knew the city and its politics better than nearly any writer of the last fifty years. I love Ward Just's writing, and was so very sad when he died last year. But now here's this Vidich guy. He writes a LOT like Ward Just did. And then there's that added HOLY CRAP! element too. Compelling and gritty, yet quietly elegant. I loved this book. Bravo, Mr. Vidich. My very highest recommendation.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the Cold War memoir, SOLDIER BOY: AT PLAY IN THE ASA ( )

1953 – the Korean War has ended, but the Cold War emerges and the intelligence services’ nerves are frayed. When CIA officer Dr Charles Wilson dies under blurry circumstances, all information is closed down immediately. It will take twenty-two years until his death gets the attention it deserves. He “jumped or fell” from the ninth floor of a Washington hotel and his family is now demanding answers. Jack Gabriel, an old friend of Wilson’s, also an agent himself, starts digging and the deeper he gets, the more coincidental deaths among key witnesses this cases produces. Somebody tries to hide something and Gabriel soon has to ask himself how much he is willing to risk for the truth.

Paul Vidich narrates a fictional story based on the real events of the mysterious death of Frank Olson, CIA employee and biological warfare expert. The author has seen himself what the agency’s policy of secretiveness can do to a family: Olson was his uncle and he could witness the family’s grief at close range.

“That was the story of the Agency then. We could do whatever we wanted because we were fighting the Soviet Union.”

The CIA killed its own men if need be. What sounds like the plot of a superb spy novel today, was a reality back then. As Vidich recalls, raising the subject at family reunions was a taboo, even though somebody suffered a terrible injustice, everybody remained silent and thus approved of the methods. Reading about the disclosure of Wilson’s/ Olson’s murder makes you oscillate between fascination and abhorrence. A lot has been revealed about the dark sides of espionage and spying, nevertheless, I am still stunned each time I read about how ruthless the business can be and how little a human life counts.

It is remarkable how Vidich manages to transport the story in an entertaining way even though he is that close to the case. A fast paced read that gives much more insight than you could ever wish for. ( )