A Patriot For Ivanov
Logan Callahan is a military intelligence veteran, haunted by memories of Afghanistan and desperate for a reason to break the monotony of his new civilian life as a restless doctoral student in Washington, DC. Logan’s sense of purpose returns when he is mysteriously offered an opportunity to utilize his intelligence tradecraft in assisting a couple of overzealous FBI counterintelligence agents. At first, they simply ask him to monitor Russian espionage activities at a local nightclub. But over time, his handlers’ requests become increasingly dangerous. No longer eavesdropping amongst the fur coats and ornate chandeliers of an Eastern European–inspired hot spot, Logan is asked to befriend a Russian diplomat with a dubious history. As he searches for vulnerabilities to exploit in his new target, Logan begins to suspect that his own loyalty has thrust him into a deadly conspiracy.
AUTHOR BIO
C.L. McGinnis is a former member of the Intelligence Community, a military veteran who previously served on 137 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, a graduate of the Defense Language Institute’s Russian Language Program, and a Doctor of Clinical Psychology. While pursuing his doctorate at The George Washington University, C.L. McGinnis co-led a team of researchers that developed an innovative approach to understanding the psychology of lone wolf terrorism, eventually culminating in McGinnis co-writing a groundbreaking journal article in Behavioral Sciences and the Law that informed the US Government’s approach to combating violent extremism.
He has since served as a forensic consultant and psychological profiler on cases ranging from terrorism to the psychological assessment of geopolitical risks associated with world leaders. C.L. McGinnis’ writing career began over twenty years ago as a music journalist, before eventually developing an interest in the art of screenwriting. He is the author of multiple screenplays that have been critically recognized in festivals and competitions.
His debut novel, A Patriot for Ivanov, is an espionage thriller inspired by his expertise in human psychology and intelligence operations. Balancing mystery, spycraft, midnight liaisons, war trauma, and a dash of Dostoyevsky, McGinnis’ debut novel reveals the mind of an author who, unfortunately for him but fortunately for readers, has seen behind the curtain and knows there’s no going back.
Recently, A Patriot for Ivanov was featured in Charleston, South Carolina’s “Post and Courier” newspaper as a recommended novel for reading lists, and readers have praised its gritty realism, intrigue, and strikingly vivid imagery.
