The Shepherd

A Spy Novel

Paul Vidich

Former CIA officer Alex Matthews finds himself caught in a dangerous investigation where politics and crime are two sides of the same coin, in the latest espionage thriller by Paul Vidich.

Washington, DC. It's the month before the presidential election, with polls showing a dead heat, and former CIA Moscow Station Chief Alex Matthews has been brought into the White House by an old friend to help with the reelection effort. The question is why? The president doesn't like him, and he doesn't fit on the White House team of hard-charging idealogues. In time, it becomes clear to Matthews that he’s been recruited for his Russian connections: Mikhail Sorkin, his former Moscow lawyer who is close to the Kremlin, and his last remaining Russian asset, code-named LAMB, who warned of Russian interference in the previous presidential election.

Matthews keeps his head down and tries to not get involved in the vicious infighting of a polarized country, but events begin to spiral out of his control at a Republican fundraiser. He spots Irina, a Russian woman he is dating, get in the hotel elevator with a senior White House colleague and a second Russian woman. Seeing that Irina is upset, he follows them to a fifth-floor suite where he overhears a violent confrontation. He leaves, but outside he comes upon bystanders crowded around a woman’s naked body, dead on the sidewalk. It's the woman who was with Irina; she has fallen or been pushed from a hotel window.

Speculation circulates that the dead woman worked on the campaign but reported to Moscow. With the ensuing PR storm threatening the reelection efforts, the deputy chief of staff enlists Matthews to locate two suspects seen in hotel surveillance video before the police do—Irina and a fleeing man. Matthews recognizes himself in the video and turns from witness to suspect—from hunter to hunted. The investigation is a dangerous maze where politics and crime are two sides of the same coin. The trick, he knows, is to stay one step ahead. But what if the enemy has been waiting for him all along?

A timely, gripping political thriller by an acclaimed master of the genre.

Paul Vidich is the acclaimed author of An Honorable Man and The Good Assassin, and his fiction and nonfiction have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, LitHub, CrimeReads, Fugue, The Nation, Narrative Magazine, Wordriot, and others. He lives in New York.

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Endorsements & Reviews

Praise for Paul Vidich’s The Poet’s Game:

"Vidich proves himself yet again one of the leading practitioners of spy fiction at work today. As ever, there’s a veil of sophistication thrown over the violent implications of the game unfolding between Vidich’s rival agents, creating an atmosphere of restraint and intellect reminiscent of the great le Carré. Vidich has outdone himself with a spy thriller at once utterly cerebral and undeniably compelling.” CrimeReads, a Top Five Espionage Novel of the Year

"Vidich’s impressive body of work has moved between Beirut, Berlin, Cuba and Moscow, where he returns in one of his best books yet. Alex Matthews, former Moscow station chief, has left the CIA and rebuilt his life after losing his wife and daughter. But when the agency asks him to return he reluctantly agrees—and risks everything in this first volume of a new series. The final twist is shocking.” The Financial Times, Best Thrillers of 2025

"Mr. Vidich’s seventh work of espionage fiction, is a fast-paced, engrossing tale of the danger, doubt and double-dealing that come with the secret life.” Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal

“Zeitgeisty, clever and emotionally rich.” Crime Time UK

"In The Poet’s Game, Vidich confirms his place in the pantheon of the new generation of spy novelists. Once again, his elegant, finely developed characters add nuance and depth to a fast-paced story.” Financial Times

“A terrific read. The Poet’s Game earns a prestigious 4 out of 4 trench coats.” Kenneth Dekleva, The Cipher Brief

“One of the best ways to turn aside the day’s political distractions is to delve into a work of Cold War espionage from Paul Vidich, whose taut writing and evocative Moscow moments tug at both ends of passion: America’s endless relationship with Russia, and the intimate details of love across borders.” The New York Journal of Books

"Vivid writing sets the tone: The plot delivers eye-opening twists as well as insights into the Russian psyche. Proof that we don’t need the Cold War for smart spy fiction.” Kirkus Reviews

"Vidich, one of today’s premier spy novelists, is back with a sophisticated new thriller about the former head of Moscow Station, now called back to duty for the proverbial one more job. Vidich paints a vivid portrait of the lives caught up in the inter-agency scheming and masterfully raises the stakes at every turn. For smart espionage fiction with a human touch, Vidich is in a class of his own." Dwyer Murphy, Crime Reads