“Of all the Moscow correspondents, no one understood the murky world of the old Soviet Union as deeply and as profoundly as the legendary Dusko Doder – and they all knew it. And none of them wrote – or writes – as well. What a rare privilege it is to have an espionage novel from Doder at last, a Russia thriller about an ordinary man caught up in an international conspiracy far above his head. This is a gripping, remarkably well told, and elegantly crafted tale that reminds me of vintage Eric Ambler.”
-Joseph Finder, NYT bestselling author of Buried Secrets and Paranoia 

“In The Firebird Affair Doder lays bare the new Russia like no other writer. It's a tale of spies, sex, power, intrigue and remorse and it speeds ahead like a troika at full gallop. Start it and there's no stopping.”
-John Darnton, NYT bestselling author of Neanderthal and The Experiment

 "Anyone who thinks the best of the Cold War spy mysteries are past has not read this beautifully written novel. You won't be able to put it down!"
-Georgie Anne Geyer, Syndicated Columnist, Universal Press Syndicate, and author of Guerrilla Prince: The Untold Story of Fidel Castro

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The Firebird Affair centers on the suspicious death of Emily, the beautiful wife of Washington Tribune correspondent Todd Martin. In 1991, she collapsed over lunch with a friend in a Moscow restaurant. A massive heart attack, Moscow authorities said and the US Embassy concurred. They shipped her body home to the US, without Todd even being aware she had died. He was out of contact covering one of the conflicts flaring up as the Soviet Union disintegrated.

But Todd has managed to rebuild his life; he's now the Tribune's chess columnist, from time to time drifting in and out of depression. He has always been doubtful Emily's death was an accident. His estranged son Rick is certain his mother was murdered, and blames his father for failing to protect her.

By 2002, Todd gets an opportunity to establish the truth after a Russian spy approaches the CIA wanting to defect. The spy reveals the existence of a KGB mole inside the US government. He also alleges that the KGB played a role in Emily's death by sneaking a psychotropic drug into her drink. Holz, the former Moscow CIA station chief, now a senior CIA official, offers Todd the chance to go to Moscow on a rogue mission to uncover the traitor's identity. Todd undertakes the mission that leads him as well as Holz to confront wholly unexpected results.

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