Ian Ludlow is an unlikely hero. He is an author of popular novels with a past as a television writer. However, he also is a CIA asset who uses his knowledge of plotting to help unravel international conspiracies.
In Fake Truth Ludlow bumbles into a conspiracy dealing with Russians creating fake news about events in the USA. The plot of this novel has the feel of “ripped from the headlines” due to some events actually going on in the USA right now.
Russian spies are in the US creating events. They frame an illegal immigrant man for murder, commit a mass shooting at a ranch near the Mexican border and use a reporter on their payroll to hype these events up.
At first, Ludlow is looking into the death of a tourist couple in Portugal. But as he digs in the truth seems unbelievable. How could these kids on Instagram have a connection to the deaths back in the US?
These Ian Ludlow books are a fun read. They have this unreality to them that is soo over the top, it almost seems believable. Author Lee Goldberg presents both sides of the story. The spies planning their operation are some of the point of view characters.
Even knowing what is happening the story is still a page-turner. How will Ian connect the dots? How much deeper into the conspiracy will the spies get before their plan is stopped? Will all the bad guys be caught or could some slip away?
If you have not read the first two Ian Ludlow books I would suggest picking them up before trying this one. While it is a stand-alone story there are enough callbacks to prior books that might help a reader understand better.
Fake Truth will release on April 7, 2020. Preorder your copy today.
A free advance copy of this book was provided via NetGalley for this unbiased review.