Francine Mathews

Critical Praise:

"The author of the Merry Folger mysteries (and, as Stephanie Barron, the Jane Austen mysteries) presents her second standalone thriller. Protagonist Stefani Fogg is a cross between actress Rene Russo's seductive, world-weary art bounty hunter in the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair and Carol O'Connell's intelligent, tough-as-nails NYPD detective Mallory. Stefani is a highly successful but bored Wall Street trader who finds the offer of a job as an undercover operative for Oliver Krane's security firm too tempting to pass up. Her first assignment involves retired world-class skier Max Roderick. At the height of the Vietnam war, Max's grandfather, a business mogul who'd cornered the market in Thai silk and ruthlessly used his power to his own ends, walked into the Thai jungle and disappeared. Max needs to know what happened, and he also wants his grandfather's house in Thailand. Mathews's expertise (she's a former CIA analyst and journalist) is evident as she seamlessly melds the external the investigation and international intrigue with the internal, as Max and Stefani face their demons."

—Library Journal

"You won't regret a moment spent reading THE SECRET AGENT -- except the one when you finish it."

—Rocky Mountain News

"It's easy to see why Mathews, who worked for the CIA herself, became fascinated with Thompson and Bangkok. Superb."

—Publishers Weekly

"In my mind, Francine Mathews is right up there with John LeCarre and Robert Ludlum, but with a distinctive voice all her own, feminine and touching, thought-provoking, imbibing her rich characters with the frailties of the human condition. Espionage is back!-- and in extremely capable hands."

—Ridley Pearson

"Francine Mathews's THE CUTOUT is not just a fresh new voice in international intrigue, it's a brand-new vision -- intelligent, passionate, and unceasingly entertaining."

—Stephen White, New York Times bestselling author of COLD CASE

"Francine writes with precision and authority. THE CUTOUT is a top rate spy thriller. I loved it."

—Ridley Pearson, New York Times bestselling author of MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

"Former CIA-analyst-turned-author Francine Mathews delivers the goods in this page-turning debut of a husband-and-wife agent team involved in a terrorist plot, one that results in the kidnapping of the American vice president and a threat to destabilize the entire European continent. Caroline Carmichael's husband, Eric, died when the terrorist group known as 30 April blew up a plane full of innocent travelers. Two years later a massive explosion in Germany's new capital city results in the capture of U.S. vice president Sophie Payne. A man who looks suspiciously like Eric is photographed leading the kidnappers. Caroline's colleagues in the intelligence community set her up to be the so-called cutout: the pawn whose invisible presence will conceal the risky contact between a man who may be a rogue agent and the handler who set him on his bloody path. Fans of the spy genre who've been languishing in the literary wasteland created by the death of the Evil Empire will be delighted with Mathews's nail-biting narrative, great pacing, and ability to create complex, multidimensional characters in this novel of revenge, betrayal, and global politics. Her secondary characters, especially Sophie Payne and the conflicted young son of the psychopath--who will sacrifice anyone who stands in his way, including his own child--are very well-drawn. But it's Caroline we hope to see again in a sequel to this suspenseful thriller."

—Jane Adams, Amazon.com

"...fans of spy thrillers should be alerted to this promising debut."

—Publishers Weekly

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