Andropov’s Cuckoo

A story of love, intrigue, and The KGB

by Owen Jones

Once in a while the heavy curtain covering the real world of spies and intelligence agencies is lifted and we get a glimpse of the motivations and crudeness that compels people to live that existence. Owen Jones’ latest story, ‘Andropov’s Cuckoo’, does just that, with a heart-wrenching account of a young girl who goes through hell and high water in the secret world of Brezhnev’s Russia in what is essentially a love story. The events described are extreme and told in a dispassionate manner familiar to many from the biographies you may have read. Purportedly this is a story that the author was told by people involved and the realism on the page is a true reflection of this.
Recommended for those of you who enjoy less-fanciful spy thrillers of the Le Carré variety.