THE DEFECTOR - Chris Hadfield

**WARNING - POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD!! ***

Astronaut and author Chris Hadfield is back with another thriller in his Apollo Murders series. But anyone expecting a thriller in space may be disappointed. This book is much more down-to-earth.

It is 1973 and Russian test pilot Alexander Vasilyevich Abramovich (better known by his nickname 'Grief') lands his MiG-25 - a Soviet jet that can fly faster and higher than anything the United States has - in Israel and calmly turns himself in. The Israeli's quickly stage a crash scene just off the coast and with some clandestine meetings, turns Grief and his jet over to the United States.

In the Nevada desert, Grief will work alongside some of the elite U.S. test pilots, teaching them all there is to know about the jet.

Kaz Zemeckis is a former US test pilot and current NASA Flight Controller, Kaz will be Grief's escort to the U.S. and responsible for keeping an eye on him and ensuring he has a pleasant experience as a welcomed defector. But Kaz will have the challenge of a lifetime.

My reaction towards this book is nearly identical to that of Hadfield's first book in the series, The Apollo Murders. Hadfield clearly knows the territory of his books.  Whether in space or on the ground, all aspects of an astronaut's life are familiar to the Canadian former astronaut. And maybe that's not the best thing as he tends to include more than is necessary while the bulk of the action is contained to the last quarter of the book.

We have a couple of chapters, early in the book (about a quarter of the way in) in which our local pilots decide that Grief should have areal American experience and take him to Las Vegas to go to a Frank Sinatra concert.  It's all hush-hush and off the record, of course.

It just so happens however, that three cosmonauts are currently visiting the United States - part of the soon-to-occur Apollo-Soyuz mission (I love that Hadfield shares with us that the Russians refer to it as the Soyuz-Apollo mission) - and their trip includes an authorized visit to Las Vegas. In a crowded room, Kaz recognizes Svetlana Gromova and quickly ushers his Soviet defector away, not sure if the cosmonaut saw or recognized them. Kaz will later be assigned as the Soviet Souz crew's official liaison and the two will do a little political charades to see if the other will bring up Grief's presence in Las Vegas.  (Svetlana, for her part, will already have researched Grief and been told the official story of his being killed in an accident.)

And two third of the way into the book and there will be no more mention of Svetlana, other than in a dream of Kaz's.

Quite likely we're being set up for book three, but honestly, this is a lot of page time devoted to someone/something that has nothing to do with the current story. If it's intended as a red herring, it's much too tame - it needs the energy and excitement that the finale has in order to keep us guessing.

We also spend just a little too much time setting up the character of Grief.  Nearly six of the first twelve chapters are about Grief flying, landing, and turning himself over. Again, Hadfield clearly understands the process of flying a major technological marvel such as the MiG-25, but perhaps we don't need quite so much insight.  A thriller needs to move at a faster pace.

I'm a big fan of Hadfield the astronaut and all he's done to raise awareness of the International Space Station and the space industry (I have a son who works in the industry and he too is a fan of Hadfield's), and I definitely admire that Hadfield finds the time and energy to write as well.  But I have to wonder ... if this book had been written by someone whose name wasn't so recognizable, would it ever have been published?

Looking for a good book? The Defector is the second volume in astronaut/author Chris Hadfield's Apollo Murders series.  One could start half way in and enjoy a fast-moving thriller but the first half is set-up ... and maybe not even for this particular book.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

3-1/2 stars

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The Defector

author: Chris Hadfield

series: Apollo Murders #2

publisher: Mulholland Books

ISBN: 9780316565028

hardcover, 368 pages