'The Persian' is a spy thriller written by former CIA analyst David McCloskey

David McCloskey keeps writing spy thrillers – and the plots keep coming true. In the opening of his latest novel The Persian , Israel has just launched a surprise attack on Iran. But the author says he had already finished writing by the time conflict broke out between the two nations earlier this year. In today’s episode, McCloskey speaks with NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly about working at the intersection of reality and fiction, and having his work reviewed by the CIA. To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy