"The Americans can't get the slime out of their capital's monument pool and will arrest you for touching it," sounds like the sort of lie they'd tell us in the Soviet Union so we'd stop bitching about bread lines.
Michael Idov
@michaelidov.bsky.social
Writer/director, LA/Berlin. THE CORMORANT HUNT out now in US and UK
Mein neuer "Krimi der Woche" (Crime novel of the week): Michael Idov: "Das Riga-Komplott" (Original: "The Collaborators"; Deutsch von Stefan Lux Suhrkamp Verlag, Berlin @suhrkamp.de @michaelidov.bsky.social www.krimikritik.com/reviews/26/1...
Die Spione kehren zurück in die Literatur — krimikritik.com
„Das Riga-Komplott“ vom amerikanisch-lettischen Autor Michael Idov ist ein brillanter Agentenroman um Geld und Macht. Hart, aber auch witzig. Und ein bisschen romantisch.
krimikritik.com
Yesterday’s Connections finally laid a perfect trap for my demographic
January's Crime & Mystery column is finally up, reviewing new books by Kelli Stanley, Malcolm Kempt, Amy Pease, and Michael Idov. (gift link)
In These Mystery Novels, Evil Lurks in Unexpected Places
nytimes.com
Happy publication day to this electrifying spy thriller! #TheCormorantHunt by @michaelidov.bsky.social is a must-read for fans of political intrigue, espionage, and thrillers that don’t play by the rules. Start reading it now: https://bit.ly/4rXr3NB
"Be prepared to become an Idov espionage fan waiting on the next thrilling and compelling story.”—Maureen Palacios, Once Upon a Time Bookstore #TheCormorantHunt hits shelves January 27th. You won't be able to put it down. https://bit.ly/4rXr3NB
Yes! Yes!! My party is in power!! Time to hit the streets and do violence to my neighbors!! I'm assuming of course that no social, cultural, or political forces, let alone those caused by my own gleeful actions, will ever tip the balance of power away from us
I'm not religious in the least but this year, and especially given the last 24 hours, I see no choice but to celebrate the crap out of Hanukkah
Not a great day buuuut there's some good news, too: Kirkus Reviews just gave a rave, and its coveted star, to The Cormorant Hunt. (The Collaborators got one as well, so this series is two for two now). A serious honor, and a hell of a start
It's kind of nuts that you can currently hear R.E.M. songs live, but your two options are to hear them sung by the guy from Hootie & the Blowfish or Oscar-nominated actor Michael Shannon
“Read this book in a cooler place than I wrote it” challenge off to a strong start, I see
Glenn Shepard@tweettropiques.bsky.social · 8mo ago@michaelidov.bsky.social It came! To the Brazil via Virginia, currently reading on a boat heading up the Amazon delta. Already got the thumbs up from @spybrary.bsky.social and will be in touch with other venues about placing a review. Thanks so much!
The follow up to The Collaborators is here! Read as part of the series or as a standalone, you won't be able to put down THE CORMORANT HUNT by Michael Idov! Enter for a chance to win on Goodreads! No purch. nec. US res. 18+ 11/23-12/19. https://bit.ly/4nAB1kw
Book giveaway for The Cormorant Hunt (The Cormorant Trilogy, #2) by Michael Idov Nov 23-Dec 19, 2025
30 free copies available. Giveaway dates from Nov 23-Dec 19, 2025. The follow up to The Collaborators is here! Read as part of the series or as a standal...
bit.ly
I’ve been waiting and hoping for exactly this, but it’s still a chilling read. Hope enough people in the IC locate their spines now, so it doesn’t have to go the full von Stauffenberg route later
An Open Letter to the Serving and Former Flag Officers of the U.S. Military
The Steady State | October 31, 2025
substack.com
I would read all four volumes of Carol Sturka’s purple sand pirate smut series before reading a single word of that Olivia Nuzzi book
You could tell me this Pope Leo XIV quote was from a David Lynch interview and I’d believe you. Cool dude
Not for nothing, this style of gov’t communication was invented around 2015 by Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I remember a lot of jaws dropping when it began.
The Russians made their own film titled "Nuremberg," released two years ago. Watching it side by side with the new American one speaks volumes about how the two societies see themselves and each other, writes @michaelidov.bsky.social airmail.news/issues/2025-...
"Nuremberg," Two Ways
How does James Vanderbilt's film about Nazis on trial differ from the Russian-made film of the same title? A side-by-side comparison speaks volumes about contemporary politics.
airmail.news
Slow Horses meets Red Sparrow in this electrifying spy thriller: THE CORMORANT HUNT by Michael Idov. Enter for a chance to win on Goodreads! No purch. nec. US res. 18+ 10/30-11/22. https://bit.ly/43Hexr0
Book giveaway for The Cormorant Hunt (The Cormorant Trilogy, #2) by Michael Idov Oct 30-Nov 22, 2025
Enter to win one of 50 free copies available. Giveaway dates from Oct 30-Nov 22, 2025. Enter for a chance to win an early copy of this thrilling espionag...
goodreads.com
Wildly proud to share this new addition to the cast of Stratagem: an actor I have hugely admired for literal decades, Mr. Dexter and David Fisher himself, Michael C. Hall
Flattered to have made the list, and can’t wait to get to work on this.
Every time you check out a Longines ad, an alarm goes off at the Intellectual Dark Web Marketing Department
Reviews are nice, but the only times I am legitimately bowled over are when someone who ACTUALLY knows this stuff has this to say. (Click on John’s bio to see what I mean)
John Sipher@johnsipher.bsky.social · 10mo agoJust finished this book. Excellent story beautifully written.
"To be a Brit was to be a bit of a spy, and to be a spy was to be a bit of a Brit." --Michael Idov @michaelidov.bsky.social Thanks to @spybrary.bsky.social for turning me on to this emerging talent. Le Carre tradecraft & betrayal meets Bourne-style action. Plus lots of spy & sci-fi Easter eggs!
Re: “anti-ICE” on shell casings: in 2022, Russian authorities eagerly shared photos of a Ukrainian “terrorist lair” that weirdly showed 3 copies of the game The Sims. It took minutes for the Internet to figure out that the FSB officer staging the scene must have been told to include some SIM cards
Links on a fucking chain. @michaelidov.bsky.social knows exactly how this goes down. www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
The Grave Threat Posed by Donald Trump’s Attack on Jimmy Kimmel
The President and his allies are using the power of the state to silence speech they dislike.
newyorker.com
"Glossy magazines were exempted for many years because the thinking went that...glossy-magazine culture is basically the urban élites talking to themselves, and we don’t really need to get into that space..." @michaelidov.bsky.social w/ the goods on media repression www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
The Grave Threat Posed by Donald Trump’s Attack on Jimmy Kimmel
The President and his allies are using the power of the state to silence speech they dislike.
newyorker.com
Spoke to the great @ichotiner.bsky.social for @newyorker.com about the fate of comedy in authoritarian regimes, a topic that sadly pursues me my whole life www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
The Grave Threat Posed by Donald Trump’s Attack on Jimmy Kimmel
The President and his allies are using the power of the state to silence speech they dislike.
newyorker.com