What could go wrong? As it happens, very little. Clever, bracing, darkly funny, and really, really good.” -Ta-Nehisi Coates “Spy fiction plus allegory, and a splash of pan-Africanism. Shortlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.This is a face of the Cold War you’ve never seen before, and it introduces a powerful new literary voice. Inspired by true events-Thomas Sankara is known as “Africa’s Che Guevara”- American Spy knits together a gripping spy thriller, a heartbreaking family drama, and a passionate romance. But doing so will change everything she believes about what it means to be a spy, a lover, a sister, and a good American. In the year that follows, Marie will observe Sankara, seduce him, and ultimately have a hand in the coup that will bring him down. Yes, even though a furious part of her suspects she’s being offered the job because of her appearance and not her talent. Yes, even though she is still grieving the mysterious death of her sister, whose example led Marie to this career path in the first place. Yes, even though she secretly admires the work Sankara is doing for his country. So when she’s given the opportunity to join a shadowy task force aimed at undermining Thomas Sankara, the charismatic revolutionary president of Burkina Faso whose Communist ideology has made him a target for American intervention, she says yes. Her career has stalled out, she’s overlooked for every high-profile squad, and her days are filled with monotonous paperwork. She’s brilliant, but she’s also a young black woman working in an old boys’ club.

It’s 1986, the heart of the Cold War, and Marie Mitchell is an intelligence officer with the FBI. What if your sense of duty required you to betray the man you love? NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY CHICAGO TRIBUNE AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review Like the best of John le Carré, it’s extremely tough to put down.”-NPR “There has never been anything like it.”-Marlon James, GQ “ American Spy updates the espionage thriller with blazing originality.”- Entertainment Weekly

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