The Budapest Escape

The Budapest Escape by Bill Rapp (Epicenter Press; on-sale November 2019)

CIA officer Karl Baier has been running a highly-placed source in the Communist Party and Hungarian government from his post in Vienna for over a year. When he receives a warning that his source is in danger, Baier knows he will have to return to Budapest to find and rescue his agent if he is even alive. Despite resistance from CIA Headquarters in Washington, Baier and a colleague will have to locate the Hungarian agent, overcome his reluctance and skepticism, dodge Soviet tanks, evade Red Army patrols, escape from KGB prisons, and disobey orders from Washington as they search for a way to freedom. Along the way he will discover support and betrayal where he least expected it.

My Review

This book read like an espionage novel with a hint of James Bond. CIA officer Karl Baier is a good main character. I found him likable but intelligent at the same time. The world that author, Mr. Bill Rapp built for this book was good. 

Instantly, I was transported into the story. Every location and person I had an visual image of. Yet; I did find myself struggling to find that strong connection to the characters. Thus, it was like I was in this world but by myself. Without that strong connection, I was only half interested in what was happening in the story. Despite, this fact, I did find this book to be a fairly quick read. I would read another book from this author.

About the Author

Bill Rapp recently retired from the Central Intelligence Agency after thirty-five years as an analyst, diplomat, and senior manager. After receiving his BA from the University of Notre Dame, an MA from the University of Toronto, and a PhD from Vanderbilt University, Bill taught European History at Iowa State University for a year before heading off to Washington, D.C. The Budapest Escape is the third book in the Cold War Spy series featuring Karl Baier. Bill also has a three-book series of detective fiction set outside Chicago with P.I. Bill Habermann, and a thriller set during the fall of the Berlin Wall. He lives in northern Virginia with his wife, two daughters, two miniature schnauzers, and a cat.