The Origin by Alex Reinshagen

Rated: 5 Star Rating

The Origin by Alex Reinshagen is an international spy thriller that feels real. The author used his own decades of experience as a federal agent in diplomatic security to write the story, and you can tell he knows how real world spy tradecraft and global security operations actually work. It is a fast paced book that keeps you hooked from the very beginning.

The plot starts in Prague, where a rookie CIA undercover operations officer named Nathan Gray begins investigating the suspicious death of an American diplomat named Emmanuel Rojas. While the official report says Rojas died from a severe shingles virus, Nathan finds a hidden note slipped under his door that reveals the death wasn't an accident.

This discovery sends him on a chase across the world. His mission takes him to interesting places like the wet markets of Chengdu, hidden tombs in Egypt, a dark castle in Slovakia, and the neon streets of Vietnam. Along the way, Nathan works to uncover a secret virus database and a dangerous conspiracy linking Russia, China, and a hidden pathogen. 

He faces political pressure from Washington because Congress is about to vote on letting a massive Chinese pharmaceutical company flood the United States market with new medications.  

Nathan has to find the truth before Beijing gains the power to upend global alliances. The characters are very relatable and have a lot of depth. Nathan Gray is a great main character because he is smart but still learning the ropes of being a spy while dealing with tons of danger. Along the way, he teams up with a brilliant statistician who helps him decode the hidden outbreak data. 

There is also an interesting Slovakian woman who joins his journey, with a personal connection and romance. This makes Nathan balance his secret spy job with a real human connection, showing how hard it is to trust anyone in his line of work.

The book ends with a high stakes finish involving secret meetings at Camp David that ties up the main mystery in a really way. It gives you a down to earth look at how hard intelligence work can be without getting too complicated or bogged down in technical jargon. If you enjoy a solid political mystery with plenty of action and a realistic vibe, this is definitely a great choice for your reading list.

Thank you, NetGalley, Köehlerbooks, author Alex Reinshagen, for providing me with a copy of this ebook review consideration. All review opinions are my own.

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