SUSAN TIPPETT BRAITHWAITE

It’s been another week of little reading time, but I did manage to squeeze some time in! I finished reading A Spy’s Guide to Taking Risks by John Braddock, and it was a fascinating read.

Spread over the chapters is the tale of Braddock’s first time travelling to a meet in alias. At first, it seems pretty benign but quickly plunges into a “worst day ever” scenario. We follow him as he does risk analysis on the fly, ditching border guards and a possible tail.

In each chapter, Braddock steps away from the story to explain a spy’s decision making in risky situations. The thought process, the AND-OR components that go into their decision making, the factoring in of every possible eventuality–and assigning probability percentages.

As I read, I saw ways of utilising what I’d learnt in my everyday decision making. But, mostly, I couldn’t stop seeing how I could use it in fiction.

And now, onto this week’s reads.

[FYI: The book links are free from affiliate codes.]

The Me-Time Read

Spycraft Rebooted looks at how spies and spy agencies work in the modern world while CCTV, card readers, and digital footprints document their every move.

I have to say, I’m eager to find out how they deal with the issues of the digital world. I’ve thought long and hard about how spies would operate in an always-on world. A lot. When you write spies/secret agents, you need to.

Using my own knowledge and things I’ve learned through research–and a millionty-one hours of Burn Notice, I’ve had to come up with ways for my DU operatives to do things differently. There are a few things my guys do and tools they use to get around being detected or surveilled. But, most of it, like techniques, hasn’t changed too much from old-school espionage. Though, I have come up with a few spy inventions that help with other tasks.

Spycraft Rebooted on Kindle (£0.99 or free for KU subscribers)

The Work Read

I’m currently 45% of the way through this book, and I love it. Much of what I’ve read so far is a refresher for me–I’ve taken H. R. D’Costa’s structure course (which was awesome). But now that I’m digging deeper into the book, I’m starting to hit some major knowledge nuggets. This is definitely a keeper for me.

Midpoint Magic on Kindle (£6.99)

Midpoint Magic on Kobo (£6.99)

What are you reading this week?

Until next time, take care, and happy reading!