Debut author Philip Lazar weaves a fascinating espionage tale around a mysterious document predicting succession in Russia, and all its implications. Espionage fiction is at its best when it responds to current geopolitical events in new and interesting ways, and debut author Philip Lazar does just that with The Tiger and the Bear. It feels like a story that could easily happen.
Because so much of the news these days seems to be a toxic amalgam of ill will and deception, just when you may be wondering what’s really going, the novel suggests “it might be this.” Lazar’s story begins in Washington, DC, when Russian-speaking policy writer Paul Girard is handed a document by a junior congressional staffer. The aide’s boss is a back-bench first-term congresswoman from a southern state, the very definition of no clout. Yet she wants the information in the document to “get out.” Paul is no longer a reporter, but the staffer insists he still has connections and turns to the document’s last page. There, Paul sees the signature of Oleg Makarov, an old friend from when he and his buddy Gunther Schroeder were reporters in the Soviet Far East. Gunther is still in the news biz, high up in a prominent Washington newspaper. Later that day, Paul shares the document with his wife Elise, experienced in government investigations, and Gunther himself.
All three immediately recognise its significance as it describes in detail plans for the secession of the Russian Far East from the mother country. No wonder it’s a secret report – such a move would destabilise the Russian government and throw a huge part of the world into turmoil. Russia could be expected to counter with force, and stopping the likely actions and reactions of world powers might be impossible. That’s what the document could do. But is it real?
“Espionage fiction is at its best when it responds to current geopolitical events in new and interesting ways, and debut author Philip Lazar does just that with The Tiger and the Bear.”
Note: The excerpt above is drawn from coverage of the book and summarizes early plot points as presented by Crime Fiction Lover and related sources.
“The Tiger and the Bear” follows a trajectory through Washington and beyond, as a hidden document’s implications ripple through international politics, challenging both public perception and state power.
- Setting: Washington, DC, with international reach into Europe, Southeast Asia, and historical Soviet contexts.
- Key characters: Paul Girard, Elise (Paul’s wife), Gunther Schroeder, and the congressional staffer who delivers the document.
- Central premise: A document purportedly detailing a plan for secession in the Russian Far East, threatening geopolitical stability.
“A tense thriller that starts with the discovery of an explosive Russian document in Washington in 2014 and wends its way through Europe and Southeast Asia, as well as the Gorbachev-era Soviet Union, to a stunning climax in Vladimir Putin’s Moscow.”
Authoritative details: The book is published by Agency Books, with a page count around 240 pages, and has received attention for its timely espionage narrative that mirrors real-world tensions.
Authorial summary: Philip Lazar’s The Tiger and the Bear crafts a tense, timely espionage narrative that interrogates geopolitical deception through a plausible document-driven crisis, weaving politics, media, and security into a provocative thriller.